


Eyes Of Gold

by evixtus



Series: Eyes of Law [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Akagami no Shanks, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Dracule Mihawk - Freeform, Drama, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, High School, Lemon, Minnesota, Multi, Red-Haired Shanks, Romance, Semi Slow Burn, Smut, Werewolves, wolf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 37,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9514505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evixtus/pseuds/evixtus
Summary: There's always been something a little bit interesting about the people in Whitecap, Minnesota. But maybe it was just one person, the one who's nickname spread for miles, seeming like it was known throughout the world about who she was.Being nicknamed 'She-Wolf'. Was nothing new. It was honestly one of her favorites. She was the only one who knew about them, the secrets that the forest of Whitecap held away from a person's reach.Living in the moment, it takes (Y/N) awhile to adjust to this newfound intrigue she has:The man with golden eyes.





	1. Golden Memories

You didn't know what you were doing out here. Sitting in the freezing cold 16 degrees Fahrenheit on your back porch, staring into the empty, lurking woods. Every day since you were little, there was something about the woods that caused you to become so interested in them. It lead you to do things like this: sit outside in the middle of January in the state most popular for it's snow: Minnesota, or, as your friends from out of state liked to call it: Minnesnowta. Living in the small town of Whitecap, population of 203, everybody knew everybody. (It isn't even a real place.)

  
Some people thought that was a good thing. You thought otherwise.

  
The thing is, you had a. . .peculiar nickname within Whitecap: She-Wolf. The death of your parents at the age of 5 in a car accident settled you in the hands of your grandmother, who raised you to be an independent woman, forming you to be the spitfire you were. She died a few years ago, when you were 16. After the funeral, your neighbors stepped up to the batting cage to take care of you. Instead, you turned them down, signed yourself an emancipation, and became a legal adult under the eyes of the Minnesota government. You now lived in the small two-bedroom, one bathroom house at the end of a quarter mile length gravel driveway. At the beginning of your driveway is a small little red mailbox, saying your last name in bold white letters. There's a sticker of a wolf's head on it as well.

  
Your grandmother, was very fond of the old, tribal ways that you had grown up from. She told you stories of countless animals that helped the earth and saved lives from falling into the pits of hell. None of her stories really stood out to you, not until you encountered one of these tribal animals for yourself.

  
You remember the day now, when you were in the backyard with your two obnoxious cousins, Ace and Luffy. A small smirk on your lips, your attention turned to the rusty old swing set sitting naked and alone in the bare moonlight, the tarnished metal proclaiming its age to you. It was more rusty now than it had ever been. The figures of a much younger you, maybe around the age of ten, Ace, who was a year older, and then Luffy, who was two years younger than you. Ace pushed you on the only swing, the other one broken because the two rambunctious brothers had fought over it.

  
_Luffy pushed you off of the old swing when Ace heard his mother call his name. You looked up at him, sinking deeper into the snow. "Hey!"_  


  
_He stuck his tongue out at you, giving that infamous toothy grin he gave to everybody. You gathered up some snow in your little mitten and threw it at the younger cousin's face. It plonked him right between his big brown eyes, and you laughed when he sputtered and tried to wipe it off of his skin. "That wasth cold!" He shouted. Yes, your little cousin had a lisp when he was just a toddler, but he eventually grew out of it by the time he was older._  


  
_He squatted down to form a snowball to throw back at you when Ace noticed you two harassing each other with the powdery substance. You and your older cousin could practically read each other's minds, and the next thing Luffy knew, when he turned to you, was that he wouldn't be able to get snow out of his clothing for weeks to come._  


  
_After hurling that ginormous hunk of snow at him, he sat up and poured. "Can I hasth a turn on the sthwing now?" He asked. You nodded quickly and patted the seat._  


  
_"Climb aboard! I even made it warm for ya!" You said._  


  
_He crinkled his nose and furrowed his little eyebrows. "Ew."_  


  
_Ace laughed while you rolled your eyes and pushed Luffy closer to the swing. "Just get on it, you nuthead. At least your butt won't be cold like mine was." You said._  


  
_He got on the swing and Ace pushed him, happily being the older one out of the three of you. You looked around your backyard with wide eyes at the untouched snow all around you. Looking around your little pink boots, you found your trusty purple shovel (the one used to make sand castles with) and waddled your way through the thick snow and further into the yard._  


  
_You were going to dig a hole, cover it with leaves, and tell Luffy that you had seen a treasure chest just beyond it. Then, the dumb little cousin of yours would walk right into your trap and fall into the snow hole! It was a fantastic plan, your ten-year-old little mind of yours thought._  


  
_So, you got to work. After about fifteen minutes of fighting with the snow and trying to keep it out of the hole instead of in--it would fall over the edges back into where you were digging--the sun was beginning to lower beneath the horizon, letting the trees of the forest extend their long shadows towards you, looming like long tendrils of a monster waiting to snatch you away._  


  
_Standing up and looking at your masterpiece of a trap, you deemed that it was time to go and find the cover for the hole, to make it look like solid ground. You looked towards the bank of trees, their shadows grey and full of thorns._  


  
_Grandma had told you multiple times to stay away from the woods, but did you listen? Most of the time, until it came to the fact that you needed to finish your trap for your cousin._  
_Finding the branches was the easy part. They were everywhere! The hard part, was dragging them all back at the same time--without looking suspicious, of course. You had managed to build a small pile of them behind you._  


  
_"There. That's plenty!" You said, pushing in the small twigs sticking out of the pile. "Luffy will fall right through it!" Snickering, you gathered up the pile of branches and held them against your chest, peering through the pine needles to the illuminated figure of your house. You were within a good four meters from the edge of your back yard, not too far, yet not close enough to make any of the adults in the house comfortable._  


  
_Figuring to waddle your way back, you took a step to begin your adventure._  


  
*** * S N A P * ***  


  
_Foot hanging in midair, just above the snow, you looked over your shoulder, back into the ombré woods behind you. What was it that made the twig snap? You shrugged your shoulders and went to continue on, placing your foot down with the satisfying crunch of snow beneath it, but there was rustling in the growth of bushes behind you._  


  
_You dropped the branches back down gently and turned around, trying to see what was out there, making all that ruckus. "Hello?" You called out softly. The breath that came from your numb lips hung in the air, forming tiny crystals that quickly evaporated away._  


  
_There was more movement. "Please come out." You said, taking a step forwards. "I'm not going to hurt you."_  


  
_Another twig snapped, and you found yourself in front of a sword fern bush. It rustled slightly, and then there was something that caught you off-guard._  


  
_It was a flash of gold._  


  
_Your breath caught in your throat, slowly holding your hand out towards the bush. Hours seemed to fly by._  


  
_There was about five feet distance between you and the bush, but it shrank as a black paw settled onto the snow, barely leaving an indent._  


  
_You waited, eyes wide with wondering curiosity about what it was._  


  
_Another paw showed, and then another, and then, there were four._  


  
_On four paws, standing before you, was a juvenile wolf. Young, just like you. It's fur was coal black, soft and fluffy, outlining every mature bone, muscle, claw to your (e/c) irises._  


  
_It took your breath away, standing there in front of you. The most astounding part, were the eyes that glittered like golden confetti littered on the streets after Mardi Gras. It blinked, slow and monotone, like there was nothing but you and it in the world._  


  
_Your fingers were so close, barely centimeters apart from touching it. You wanted to so badly. Never in your life have you felt such a powerful urge to touch something. It was like looking at a massive red button that said in bold letters: DO NOT TOUCH._  


  
_Now they were millimeters away, just from brushing against the muzzle of the wolf._  


  
_Sudden reality was brought back into focus as the sound of a gunshot rang through the trees, destroying the silence and chasing off every last bit of peace and tranquility you knew of within the world. Everything was in slow motion, all as you looked into the golden eyes of the wolf in front of you._  


  
_The bullet whizzed just past your shoulder, grazing into the wolf's shoulder skin, bursting into the flesh with an unwelcome twist of carbine and gun powder._  


  
_The pupils dilated into slits, losing the glittering gold as a snarl ripped through the juvenile's throat, white pearls exposed through the world behind pulled back lips. The fangs ripping through the soft fabric of pink mittens and piercing the pale flesh of the human standing in front of it._  


  
_A scream was loaded into the deadly silent air as teeth were quickly sunk into the hand, then removed._  


  
_Time seemed to return back to its normal place. You recognized the scream, coming from your mouth. Crunching of snow, the wolf in front of you shrank back, snarling viciously before pivoting on its heels and darting back into the untamed woods. An arm wrapped around your waist, and then you realized you were still screaming, the familiar body of your Uncle Roger carrying you back into the house._  


  
_The sliding glass door was slammed open, revealing your disturbed cousins, a distressed Aunt Rogue holding her sons, and a surprisingly calm Grandmother fumbling to take you from her sons hands._  
_"It was a wolf." Uncle Roger said, panting. He was shaking like a madman._  


  
_Grandmother stopped your screaming, taking your bitten hand and running it underneath the water. "Hush now, my dear. Cry, little bird." She said softly, running a free hand through your tangled hair as she washed away the blood covering your wound._  


  
_"A wolf?" Aunt Rogue gasped._  


  
_"It was standing right there, right in front of her!" He said._  


  
_Tears streamed down your face. "Uncle Roger! I hate you! You killed him! You killed him!"_  


  
_Grandmother hushed you, wrapping the hand in bandages. "Hush, little bird."_  


  
_"He saved your life!" Ace said, running towards you._  


  
_"No! He killed him!" You replied, pushing your cousin. "You killed him!" Wailing, you punched your uncles leg. "How could you? Why would you do that?"_  


  
_"(Y/N)! Stop!" Your uncle grabbed you by the shoulders. "He--that THING. It would've killed you! Eaten you!"_  


  
_Grandmother swept you off of your feet and somehow managed to calm you down, saying sweet little nothings to cease your tears and wipe the snot running from your nose. "Little Bird." She sang softly. You looked up at her as she sat you down on the couch, in between your cousins. "What did he look like?"_  


  
_You felt Luffy's hand grab your good hand, and Ace's hand grabbed your injured hand--but much gentler, knowing it still hurt._  


  
_"Nana. . ."_  


 

Your head lifted from its original position of blowing on your numb and cold fingers, turning towards the sound in the woods as a lock of (hair color) hair fell past your eyes, shielding the forest from your burning (eye color) gaze.

  
Standing up, the snow underneath your boots crunched and sighed underneath your weight as the pressure of your body pushed it closer to the core of the earth.  
A gentle breeze stirred the pine needles and trees as they whispered secrets you ached to learn, pushing yourself as close as you can get to them.

  
You found yourself staring at your shadow, condensing the bush in front of you to be much smaller than it was when you were younger. Lifting up your right hand, you looked at the scar presented there, memories rolling down the train track as a small smile ghosted over your lips.

  
It had called to you. You didn't know why it was calling to you and not to anybody else. You honestly doubted that anybody else could hear it's cries for attention. But you still proceeded to ask yourself: why me? Every time you found yourself hear in your backyard, staring into the forest like your parents were going to come back from the dead and walk up to you like they never died.

  
Why was it wanting you? What was so special about you? Why did this happen for so many years? Why did you always end up out here on the cold winter nights, waiting for something that will never show?  
You turned back towards the house. There was no way you were getting answers now. You never did, anyways.

  
It took just two steps for you to hear it.

  
That sound.

  
Looking over your shoulder, once again, like you had done so many years ago in that exact same spot, you finally saw it.

  
Those eyes of gold.


	2. Brothers & Monsters

Sitting behind the steering wheel, a (e/c) glare was aimed at the small VW Beetle you had as a car. It was your grandmother's old prized possession. It was a good little car, it worked for your ambling around Whitecap, getting groceries, going to Nami's house for a study session, picking up Zoro when he got lost--how did he keep getting lost-- HE LIVES HERE FOR FUCK SAKE. You looked at your watch and then at the dream catcher hanging from your rearview mirror.

Fuck. You were stuck and out of luck. The school day had just ended, and you glowered as the peers of your school nonchalantly waltzed past your old white Beetle. Just your luck. You lean forwards with a guttural groan and place your head against the steering wheel, closing your eyes and taking everything in. Who could you call to give you a ride? Would Ace bring his truck over and give your dead car a jumpstart? Or maybe you could just ride home with him--he was supposed to come over for the weekend anyways.

At the sound of a knock on your window, you lifted your head and saw Ace with his face pressed against the glass, leaving fog marks on the clear window as he breathed. You lifted your left hand and hit the unlock button. As soon as the click went off, Ace yanked the door open, almost ripping it off of it's hinges.

"HEY." You screeched. He slid in and sat down quietly, looking at you with wide eyes. "Don't yank my door open like that, you dumbass. She might look young, but she's still as old as can be!" Reaching around and socking your cousin in the shoulder.

He kept his hand on the door handle and looked at you, slowly pulling it closed with a gentle click. Satisfied, you sighed and let your head hit the steering wheel again, making the horn go off with a sharp yap.

"Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed today." Ace muttered, going to buckle his seatbelt.

"No point in buckling up. She's dead." You sighed once again, opening an eye to look at him.

"Oh. Well, I got a ride from Marco so we could head back to your place." He opened the door again and pulled out his phone, hitting maybe two or three buttons before he had it against his ear.

You already knew who he was calling--Marco, Marky, Mark, whatever the hell you wanted to call the damn pyromaniac blond. Thrumming your fingers against your thigh, you waited until the growl of a truck pulled up in front of your assigned parking spot. Marco peered over the hood of his navy blue truck and then jumped out of the driver's seat, pulling out the jumpstart with him. Getting out of your own vehicle--which you had tried to run multiple people over with multiple times (basically just Luffy, Marco, Ace, Zoro, Sanji, and maybe Usopp on a few occasions)--Ace popped open your hood and you leaned against his naked shoulder, yawning.

"(Y/N)-yoi. Come over on Sunday and I can do an oil change and whatnot on her." Marco said, hooking up the power cords to your battery. "Looks like she needs new tires, too."

You nodded and pushed Ace towards the drivers side. "You start her. I'm mad at her." You grumbled. He rolled his eyes and slid his bulky figure into the small drivers seat.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of red hair moving across the parking lot, along with a blob of dirty blonde hair next to it. Stretching up on your toes to try and see over Marco's shoulder, you noticed that it was the infamous Eustass 'Captain' Kid and his girlfriend, Gizmo. Her name isn't actually Gizmo--it's her nickname, she won't tell anybody how she got it though. The only one who knows her real name is Kid, of course. But he only ever uses it if she's in really big trouble.

Gizmo had her hair up in a ponytail, sending the long ombre strands of hair cascading down her back, barely reaching the curve of her butt. She was honestly really stunning--just the type of girl that Kid would like. The red streaks of hair--that she had purposely dyed that color to match Kid, fell over her green eyes as she dragged her boyfriend of four years towards the little car you were currently trying to jump start.

"(Nickname!)" She said cheerily, her pale fingers intertwined with Kid's slightly darker ones. He had a look of boredom on her face, but it was only because Gizmo wasn't paying attention to him at the moment. He wasn't one for people unless it was her, or any of his group. She basically glomped you as she released her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around you. "Hi! I missed you!"

"You just saw me in 6th Hour, Gizmo." You said softly, rubbing her back.

"I know, but you're a joy to be around." She pinched your cheeks and gave you a bright smile, turning to head back towards Kid. You watched his dark maroon eyes light up when she jumped into his arms, reveling in her attention. Their personalities crashed a lot. He was short-tempered and an asshole, while she was a big teddy bear and basically loved everybody. The only thing was that she had a temper, and Kid found that sexy as hell.

Marco and Ace were shouting back and forth at each other for some unknown reason that had nothing to do with jumpstarting your car back into life. "Pineapple!" Gizmo suddenly screeched, and Marco looked over his shoulder at the girl who had just recognized his existence.

"Hey, Jungle Book." He chided, teasing her. They knew each other from their childhood, and Gizmo's favorite childhood story was The Jungle Book, so Marco officially gave her that nickname--only he was allowed to call her that. She'd get mad at anybody else and probably bite them.

She didn't make any move to leave Kid's side as she looked back over at you. "So, (Y/N). Regarding the party tonight. . ." She looked at you with wide, green expecting eyes.

"Why do you want me to come so badly?" You asked, groaning dramatically.

"Because when was the last time you went outside your little house?" She asked, an eyebrow arching at you curiously. "Look. You either come to the party or I'll bring it to you."

"Don't bring it to my house." You sighed, giving in. "I'll go. As long as I can bring Ace and Marco with me."

"They're already going." Said Kid, scrolling through his phone for some unknown reason.

"You are?" You asked, looking over your shoulder at the two boys. Ace looked up from inside the car and sheepishly grinned.

"Ace-yoi got a date." Marco said, yawning as he continued to tinker around the internal skeleton of your vehicle.

"Who's your date?" You inquired curiously, lurking closer to him.

"Her name's Teagan." He said, rubbing the back of his neck and leaning back against your seat.

"He's been talking to her for about eight months now." Marco explained as he finally managed to jumpstart the Beetle.

"Where'd you meet her?" You continued on, ready to pester your cousin with constant questions.

"Online, through Thatch."

"What's she like?"

"She's short--really short, she's got red hair, brown eyes, really sexy, she's kinda shy but in the hot way. She's got a big mouth, rides horses, knows how to fend for herself." He sat up, really getting into talking about her. "She's got the best ass and thighs--"

  
"(Y/N)-yoi doesn't need to hear about that." Marco grumbled over the calm purr of your engine. He yanked Ace out of the car and sighed.

"It's cause she rides horses. She's also strong as hell and isn't afraid of anything." Ace grinned widely, suddenly dropping to curious when his phone buzzed. "Speak of the devil." He said, pulling it out of his pocket as the grin returned.

You rolled your eyes. "Everybody has a date besides me."

"I don't have a date." Marco yawned.

"You should go with her!" Gizmo screeched, suddenly appearing out of nowhere once again.

"Gizzy, come back. Leave 'em alone." Kid sighed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her still as she tried to writhe out of his grip to bodyslam somebody else. "Anyways, we're leaving. We've got to set up for the party." He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, turning and walking towards his black jeep wrangler.

Gizmo waved at the group. "Bye! See you at 8:00 sharp!"

Turning your attention back to Marco and Ace, you sighed. "Come on, Ace. Let's head back to my place. We can watch movies or something or go for a walk until the party."

"Or we can go to Marco's place and ride the quads." Ace grinned.

"Wut?" The pineapple-haired guy suddenly came back into reality. "Oh. Sure. That gives me time to touch up your wheels and give you an oil change." He said, stretching. "I'll meet y'all at my garage."

Then, he was in his truck and harrowing out of the school parking-lot.

"Alrighty then. Well, I guess I should go and get some different clothes." You mumbled, heading towards your trunk.

"Change there. Let's just go already." Ace chided eagerly, pushing you back towards the drivers seat.

"Okay, okay." You slid into the car and he jumped into the shotgun. "Has he changed the course any?"

Ace shook his head no, and then you two went out to Marco's garage.

[[[[[Time skip]]]]

Standing in Marco's garage about an hour later in (color) dirt-bike pants and an old sweatshirt of Marco's, you grabbed the smaller helmet of the three and slid it onto your head, tightening the buckle and then grabbing your gloves. Ace was already throttling the engine on 'Fire Fist', his blood red Yamaha Banshee, and Marco was making sure 'Ghost', your white Banshee was in good condition, while 'Phoenix', his royal blue Yamaha 3-Wheeler stood idle, purring gently.

The sound of the engines in the garage were great, soothing to your ears. It was therapy for you, besides reading or sleeping of course. Looking over at Marco when he stood up, you knew that was the all-clear. Bouncing over to Ghost, you took a moment to revel in Ace fighting his helmet while Marco flicked a glob of mud off of Phoenix, seemingly bored for a minute before he shifted gears and led you and Ace out of the garage.

You took place behind Marco as he went down the familiar path towards the 5-acre course that wound around his property. Now it was going to be a hell of a ride. As soon as you reached the clearing, Marco was on your left side as Ace was on your right. The calm hum of the engines made you roll your shoulders back, glancing out of the corner of your eye at the two boys on either side of you.

Growing up with Ace as a cousin and his best friend being Marco, it caused you to look at the two boys like they were brothers--and they treated you like a sister. Hence why you wouldn't be able to go anywhere with either of them as a 'date' or more than friends. You guys had too close of a relationship for any of that. It would be awkward.

It was like the boys were waiting for you to start off on the course. With a grin, you gripped the clutch and slid the toe of your boot underneath the stick shift as you hitched it up, throwing Ghost into 2nd gear and taking off. The roar filled your ears as you heard the familiar Banshee scream of Ace fly past you, throwing glops of mud and dirt in your direction. Your laugh was muffled by the helmet as Marco passed you as well, flying after Ace.

Clutch. Stick shift up, 3rd gear. The exhilaration of the wind blasting against your helmet and running through the sleeves of Marco's sweatshirt made your heart sore. This is what it was like to be the little sister of two best friends. You were soon on Ace and Marco's tail of the course as they went through the weaves of the course, winding through the trees.

It was now your 3rd or 4th time going through the course. Who was keeping track? You certainly weren't. You had just completed the last dip in the course and came flying over the top in 4th gear, catching air and landing about twenty feet away from the rise. Shifting down into 2nd quickly, to avoid exploding Ghost's transmission, you moved out of the way and waited for the boys to catch up to you. Leaving Ghost in neutral and deciding to take off your helmet, you pulled it off over your head and set it in your lap.

Off in the distance was the sound of Phoenix and Fire Fist racing each other on the first half of the course--you guessed this from how loud the bikes were. You enjoyed the song of twittering birds and the whispers of the wind as they glided through the tree leaves and pine needles. Like you expected, after being in neutral for so long, the engine hissed as it powered down, leaving you sitting in beautiful silence.

You took the time to reminisce in the beautiful woods and terrain, eyes closed and your arms resting on the handlebars as you listened to the wildlife of Minnesota around you.

Then, it was silent.

The wind didn't stir through the trees, the birds disappeared. The growl of Marco and Ace's bikes were long gone, leaving you alone and uncomfortable in the eerie scenario. You sat up and looked back towards the track, furrowing your eyebrows as you tried to pick out the sounds of Marco and Ace either bickering, or the roar of their bikes.

Nothing.

Becoming unsettled, you quickly stood up on your foot pegs and slid the kick-start into place. Giving the Yamaha quad gas and throttling the engine as you attempted to kick it into start, you froze in silence as the sound of a bloodcurdling animalistic scream ricocheted off of the trunks of the trees. You stumbled off of Ghost, falling onto your knees in the pile of leaves and dirt. Struggling to your feet, you whipped around and bolted as fast as you could in the riding boots and gear you were still in. "MARCO!" (POLO)

Your voice cracked as you shouted for the brother-figures. "ACE!" You ran down the dip of the course you had just flown over, stepping in your tracks and twisting your ankle with a yelp of pain. Crumbling back down into the soft earth, you knew you couldn't be sitting there in the middle of the track in case the boys would come towards you. Scrambling back to your feet, you hobbled to the side and leaned against a tree, stretching your injured ankle out and trying to get rid of the pain as fast as you could so you could find Marco and Ace.

The hair on the back of your neck stood up as a growling came from the forage across the side of the little valley you were cornered in. Trying to keep your breathing under control as your heart pounded away as if it was a Gatling gun, the growling turned into snarling as you saw the outline of a figure against the plantation lunge out of the bushes and narrow in on you as it's prime focus.

Your mouth opened to let a scream rip out of your throat, but nothing came. It was like the world slowed down and the oxygen left your lungs as you turned your back towards the predator and took off running further into the unknown territory. You only knew the area around Marco's garage and the course--you never dared to go out without the boys, or even with them if they were heading out. You always felt that pit in the bottom of your stomach grow whenever they went off of the course onto a different path that was much too challenging for you. You weren't as good of a rider as they were.

You felt your feet miss the beginning of another edge, and your heart dropped. Shuddering when you felt the sickening cold feeling of the murky bog around your legs, you looked down and raised your arms up, trying to avoid getting Marco's sweatshirt and your top half wet. The disgusting green slop reached just above your knees, sometimes to the middle of your thighs depending on where you stepped. Looking out in front of you, you saw nothing but the marsh. You couldn't just sit there, or you'd get swallowed alive by either the bog or whatever the fuck was chasing you. Thank god the riding pants you were wearing were waterproof, making sure the leggings you wore underneath were dry.

Moving through the liquid that gave you goosebumps, it felt like hours until you reached the end of the bog, clambering onto the shore and feeling your entire body convulse of shudders. Looking over your shoulder, you didn't see the animal that was chasing you, but you could hear it. That was terrifying enough.

Hearing another bloodcurdling animalistic scream, similar to the one you had heard earlier on the course, adrenaline burst through your veins and you took off running once again, except slower this time, since you were being held down by the pants that were soaked by the murky bog. You had no other choice--either die by an animal or risk freezing to death. While fleeing, your fingers fumbled over the buttons and clips holding your riding pants onto your hips. Finally hearing that one last click, you felt freedom flood through your body as you quickly rid of the pants, tugging them off over your boots, leaving you in your leggings, Marco's sweatshirt, a long-sleeved shirt underneath that, and then your boots.

Feeling your range of movement increase by tenfold, you sped up your pace with labored breathing and shaking hands and feet as you stumbled through the terrifying forest that was still dead silent besides your trampling over sticks and plants and the thing chasing you.

Your body was hot, but you couldn't take off Marco's sweatshirt or you'd loose the last comforting thing you had on you. It smelled like the brotherly figure, washing you with a sudden feeling of safety until you tripped.

Gravity pulled you towards the face of Earth--which just happened to be a steep declivity. You weren't able to catch or save yourself as you tumbled down the decline, earning tears in Marco's sweatshirt, ripping straight through your undershirt and scratching your skin, leaving you bloody and bruised.

Reaching the bottom of the hill, you couldn't move. You couldn't feel your fingers, your legs were numb, you were barely conscious. So this was how you were going to die.

The snap of a twig caused your eyes to flutter open. Your vision was blurry and your ears were ringing. You automatically curled up into a ball, tears streaming down your face as you welcomed the fact that you were going to die today.

The sight of it sent your mind into overdrive. (e/c) eyes rolling into the back of your head, you succumbed to the dark.

Those golden eyes.


	3. Saved & Shocked

_"(Y/N)!" A monotone, deep voice called out._

_"(Y/N)!" It was a lighter voice, but still gravely._

_"(Y/N)?" The last feminine voice called out._

_There was a shuffling of what sounded to be a group of shoes, but in all reality, it was three people atop of three horses. Ace and Marco rode side-by-side, the girl known as Teagan trailing behind them--Ace's date to the party that was supposed to happen a few hours ago. But as soon as you had gone missing, the party had been cancelled, finding you was now the top priority._

_Sitting atop a black gelding, Ace pulled gently back on the reins, looking down at the bog and aiming his flashlight at the soft indents in the thick mud. "Look. Somebody walked through here." A smaller horse waded past Ace and Marco who were observing the tracks. Riding a blue roan mare, the redhead leaned down and grabbed something out of the mud._

_"Marco. Aren't these her riding pants?" She asked, shaking them off slightly and turning her body around in the saddle to face the two boys. Marco's headlamp focused in on the (color) breeches._

_"Yeah. Those are hers." He gently squeezed his legs against the palomino equid underneath him, wading through the sludge and taking ahold of your riding pants, stuffing them in the bag connected to the saddle. "Let's keep going. She's got to be close."_

_"What if something got ahold of her, Marco?" Ace questioned, his grip tightening on the reins slightly. The gelding he was riding just chewed slightly on the copper-tinted snaffle, moving out of the bog and standing next to the blue roan mare on the solid surface. "I know these woods aren't as empty as they seem."_

_"I don't think anything got ahold of her." Teagan mused, pushing a strand of red hair behind her ear and following closely after Marco. "If we find her, Rampage is the only one who can carry two people. Opal and Smoke won't be able to carry both." She murmured, looking forwards at the palomino Belgian draft mix. Opal, the blue roan mare, snorted gently and sped up her pace to keep up with the long-legged palomino. Smoke huffed besides her, soon falling behind with Ace to take up the rear._

_It was silent for another ten to fifteen minutes. How far they had traveled into the property, only Marco would know--but even now, he was sure that they were way past his boundaries. They were in the unknown, unclaimed territory that belonged to the wild animals of Minnesota. Since they weren't familiar with this area, Ace had thankfully come up with the idea to take a piece of bright green duck tape and place it on plants and trees to mark their path home. Getting lost in these freezing temperatures would be horrible._

_Her ears shifting slightly, Opal stopped in her tracks, one hoof still dangling in the air, her attention pointed to something aside of Rampage who was in front of her. T looked down at her mare, touching the roan's neck. "Opal? What's wrong?" She murmured gently. There was the sudden realization that they weren't alone, mainly when the young--usually calm mare--took off squealing and bounding in a direct 90 degrees to the left of the trail that Marco and Rampage had made._

_Taking the equine into two hands again, Teagan managed to hold on as much as possible. She lost her stirrups, but with sheer leg power, she held on for dear life as the horse came to a screeching halt. The girl barely managed to get a glimpse of a four-legged figure take off into the undergrowth with a snarl, tail tucked between it's legs._   
_"Teagan? Are you okay?" Ace shouted._

_Looking over her shoulder, she saw the two headlamps aimed in her direction. "Yes, I'm fine. I don't know what happened with her, she usually never--" A groan caught her attention. "What the?"_   
_As her hazel eyes scanned the ground, she squinted and focused in on the feminine figure curled up in a ball. "Uh, I think I found her."_

_As soon as 'found' came out of her mouth, both boys on both geldings were now in the clearing, being careful of where they were stepping. Marco slid off of Rampage, hitting the ground with a soft thump and rushing forwards to your downed figure. "What is this?" Ace was by his side in a second, everybody dismounted off of their horses, no point in holding onto the reins--they weren't going to go anywhere._   
_"This isn't your sweatshirt." Ace murmured, running his hand across the sleeve of the coat you were wearing._

_"Somebody was out here with her." Teagan sighed, looking around. "When Opal and I got here, something left. It went right through that bush." She walked towards it, Opal on her heels and nickering softly._   
_"Fuck." Marco muttered._

_"What's wrong?" Ace asked, extending his broad arm and grabbing Teagan, pulling her close._

_"The symbol right on the front of the trench coat." He tucked his arms underneath the bend of your  knees and by your shoulders, holding you against him. "It's not a good sign." He looked down at the girl that was unconscious in his arms, her head lolled to the side and resting against his chest. Looking up at his best friend who was rubbing Teagan's shoulders to keep her warm, he cleared his throat. "Ace. I need you to hold onto her while I mount Rampage again."_

_The brunette took you into his arms, holding you close while Marco repositioned himself atop the palomino gelding, carefully handing you up to him. The blond held you close, wrapping an arm around you and steering Rampage with the reins to leave the clearing for the other two to get on their own equids._

_Once Ace and Teagan were mounted and ready, Marco led the way back towards his own yard, rushing the gelding underneath him to quicken his walk slightly. You were close to getting frostbite on the tips of your fingers, lips chapped and pale with a slight blue tinge. "You're going to be okay, (nickname). I promise." He murmured, turning his attention to the tape that marked the path to home._

 

 

With your head pounding and a ringing in your ears, you rolled over with a groan, taking a moment to process that you were still in bed. But it wasn't just your own. It was Marco's. The blond was sleeping on the couch, Ace and Teagan curled up together in the spare bedroom. It had been two days since they found you in the woods, practically frozen to death and in the long trench coat of an unknown familiar.

Ace wanted to take it from you, saying he was going to send it to the police station to have the owner pick it up, but you refused, death gripping it and fighting him for it. You didn't know why you were so clingy to the damn thing, but you just knew that you couldn't let it go. Sliding out of the bed with the soft thump of your feet against the smooth carpet, you curled your toes to take in the feeling and with a sigh, you moved out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, finding an empty coffee mug and a warm brew of the satisfying liquid ready for you.

Taking your coffee and making it just how you liked it, you wandered into the living room, sipping delicately on the caffeinated drink. In front of you was Ace and Marco snoring softly, while a familiar short red head sat next to your cousin, curled in a blanket and sipping on her own cup of coffee. The TV screen in front of the two couches hummed gently as the news reporter spoke of the weather, current world problems, all the fun stuff.

"Good morning, Teag." You murmured, taking another drink and moving to sit in the open chair in front of the crackling fire.

"Morning, (nickname)." She hummed, her head resting on Ace's shoulder while he stirred slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, and still cold. I swear I won't be able to feel my toes for the rest of my life." You responded, crossing your legs and rubbing at your toes to try and feel them.

"You should still be in bed, you know." She pulled a blanket off of the couch and tossed it gently at you. You managed to catch it with one hand while trying not to spill your coffee. "But you're fine for right now. You're sitting in front of the fire, wrapped in a blanket, and drinking coffee." She raised an eyebrow, and you got the hint, deciding to burrito yourself into the soft blanket.

"Besides. The boys can't complain that they're happy you're alive. Every time you go to sleep, they'll stand outside the door and peer in, waiting for something to come and grab you or for you to whimper." She chuckled and shook her head, a few strands of red hair falling out of her messy bun. "It's ridiculous."

A small smile cracked your lips. "They're basically my brothers, so I'm not surprised."

She swallowed her mouthful of coffee and smiled at you. "They really love you, you know. Ace, like a little sister, since you are his cousin after all." The spoken of male wrinkled his nose and yawned, shuffling to get more comfortable. "Marco, maybe more than a little sister, or even a friend."

You chuckled. "That's what everybody thinks. People honestly confuse us for a couple, but really, if we dated, it would just be really awkward, you know? They're my best friends, besides Gizmo."  
She chuckled. "I get it, don't worry." As the News channel switched to a commercial, she looked at the time and sighed, pushing Ace off of her slightly to get up. "I gotta go feed the four-legged fluff-balls." She giggled at her own nickname for them.

"Do you need some help?" You asked, sitting up slightly to assist her.

"No, I'll be alright. You just stay here with the boys and be warm, okay?" She smiled and fixed her bun before pulling Ace's sweatshirt over her head, and her snow boots onto her feet. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She pulled open the sliding glass door and closed it behind her, scuffling through the thick, white snow to get to her horses.

After about five minutes, you finished your coffee and stood up, still wrapped in the blanket and ready to clean out the mug and put it in the dishwasher. Shuffling into the kitchen, you yawned and looked over your shoulder as you saw the looming figure of Marco behind you, deciding to snatch your mug and fill it up for his own cup of coffee.

"Morning, pineapple." You murmured, turning and leaning back against the counter.

"Morning, (nickname)." He finished preparing his coffee and gulped a few mouthfuls down. "How'd you sleep?" He murmured, his blue eyes glazed over with exhaustion.  
"Good, but you're getting your bed back tonight." You responded, covering your mouth with a hand to muffle your yawn.

"Yeah, I planned on taking that back. You're good enough to go back home now. But I'll probably have Gizmo and Kid to come check up on you, since they live right down the street." He lifted an eyebrow and looked at you over the rim of his coffee mug.

You groaned. "I don't need babysitters, Marco. I can take care of myself."

"I never said they'd be there at your house all the time. They'll just bring you food or visit you and make you food or something."

"Fine. Only because of food." You muttered, glancing away from him and crossing your arms over your chest.

"That's what I thought." He had quickly finished his cup of coffee when Ace walked in, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Where's T?" He inquired, looking about the kitchen.

"She went to feed the four-legged fluff-balls, as she called them." You mused.

"Who said fluff-balls?" The spoken of redhead asked, poking her head in through the sliding glass door and knocking the snow off of her boots before stepping inside.

As she took off her boots, Ace shuffled over to her and snuggled her into his chest. "(Y/N) did." He cooed, a soft smile on his face as he rubbed his cheek on the top of her head.

"He asked where you were." You responded coolly, rolling your eyes slightly at Ace fawning over Teagan.

"When my horses are done eating, we're heading out." She replied, her hand on Ace's neck and her other hand intertwining her fingers which was resting on her stomach.

Ace whined, and Marco looked at you. "When they leave, I'll give you a ride back home. Sound good?"

You nodded. "Sounds good."

 

 

You waved Marco away as he drove off down the gravel driveway, walking back inside your house as his truck disappeared from your sight. Your stomach rumbled, and you looked at your fridge longingly, desperate for food.

You flung the door open and scowled at the fact that it was practically empty. Oh, that's right. Before Ace was supposed to come over, you were going to go and get groceries. You looked at your stove, the time written digitally across the top, next to the dials. 5:45 PM. Gizmo and Kid wouldn't be by until about 7. If you had the food to make something to hold yourself over until they arrived, you would've, but you didn't.

Pulling your phone out of your pocket, you walked into the bedroom and dialed Gizmo's phone. It rang a few times before she picked up.

"Hey! How's it going?" Her cheery tone popped through the speaker.

"Gizmo! Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to get groceries before you guys come over." You said, opening your closet to grab your boots.  
"That sounds awesome!" She replied.

"How? It's just me going to--" You questioned, suddenly being cut off by her giggle.

"Ha! You fell for it! It's my voicemail, by the way. Anyways, since I didn't answer, I'm probably with my boyfriend, or sleeping. Who knows? I'll call you back when I get the chance! Bye!"  Your eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Damn you, Gizmo, and your confusing and stupid voicemail..." You bent over to tie your shoes when you heard the beep. With a sigh, you recorded your voicemail with what you were going to do, letting her know that you'd most likely be back before they got there, but just incase they got to your house before you, they at least knew where you were.  
You hung up the call and slid your phone into your pocket after you finished lacing your boots up. Walking to the door and grabbing the trench coat, you stepped outside and locked the door behind you, fumbling the keys with gloved hands as you approached your little VW Beetle.

"I don't have that much money, but I should have enough to hold me over till next week." You said to yourself, starting the car and backing it out of the undercover area to turn it around. Putting it into drive, you hummed gently with the slightly static-filled radio as you made your way back into town to grab groceries from the supermarket.

"I think I'll get a sandwich or something to hold me over until dinner." You spaced out, pulling into a parking spot and hurrying inside the store as a chilly breeze blew by you.  
It was easy, buzzing your way through the small supermarket and dropping things into your cart as you spoke to yourself. You got waves from your neighbors and the other residents of town, sometimes stopping to engage in small chat while you walked down the aisles together.

You waved at one of your grandmother's old friends as you carried your groceries to your car. "Bye, Cathy. I'll see you again soon!" The lady waved back over her shoulder as you opened the back door to your Beetle, setting your groceries down. Looking at your phone, you nodded slightly to yourself. "I've got twenty minutes until Gizmo and Kid get to my place. Just enough time to drive back and put everything away."

As you closed the door and moved to walk to the drivers side, you bumped into somebody. "Oh, I'm sorry! Completely my fault, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." You continued to drawl on, finally looking up to the person you ran into.

Your jaw dropped, and the keys of your car slid between your fingers and hit the concrete with a small chink.

Eyes flashing as he bent down to look at you, a smirk graced his lips, trailing down your body and identifying the trench coat you were wearing. "My coat looks good on you."

He brushed past you, wearing a hoody with the exact same symbol on the front. Static flowed through your limbs as he barely touched his hand against your cheek as he passed, like you were magnified to him.  
As he walked into the dark parking lot, his silhouette faded away as you stood there, still watching him. As he disappeared, you felt a sudden rush of air come to your lungs. How did you forget how to breathe at a time like that?

 

   
Maybe it was those golden eyes.


	4. Unbounded

"Ouch. Son of a. . ."

"Watch your language!" Your hand came to smack the back of Ace's head.

"Hey! I'm older than you, don't tell me to watch my language!"He whined and rubbed his head, looking towards Teagan. The redhead just shook her head.

"Don't be in Smoke's way when he's grazing. He'll step on you, and he won't care at all."

"Yeah, I can tell. I think I broke a toe." He grimaced, reaching down and rubbing his foot, leaning against the gelding for support. Shadow just stepped past him with a snort, letting him fall to the ground. "Agh!"

Teagan giggled, as well as you. "Don't worry, Ace. It's just him saying that he appreciates your obnoxiousness."

"Yeah. Such appreciation." Grumbling and rising to his feet, he ran his hand through his hair before turning to look at you. "You alright?"

You had been staring off into the distance, still thinking about that guy from the grocery store parking lot. It had been three days, and ever since then, you had felt oddly alone--as if your friends weren't near you--which they were. Like, all the time. "Hm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About?"

"What to make for dinner." You blurted back.

"Oh. Can I stay for dinner?" He asked, taking a few elongated steps towards you.

"No. (Y/N), Gizmo, and I are going to get ready for the party, while you, Marco, and Kid do the same thing." Teagan scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides. You'll be able to eat everything at the party, since we had to cancel it last time, because somebody went missing." She teased, looking towards you.

"Hey, that was terrifying! I don't even remember what the hell chased me out there..." You mumbled, hugging yourself closely.

"Well, ever since that day, you've been refusing to let go of that trench coat." Marco said as he appeared out of literally nowhere, motioning towards the clothing you were wearing.

"I-it's warm." You mumbled in response, holding it closer. "Besides, if I meet the person who says 'hey, that's my jacket', I want to say thank you in person, y'know. For them saving my life and all." Rolling your bottom lip between your teeth, you held in the fact that you had seen that exact guy.

He had said the coat you were wearing was his.

And that you looked good in it.

To top it off, he had those golden eyes.

You knew they looked familiar, you had the answer right at the tip of your tongue, but you didn't have enough power and knowledge to pry it off. Not to mention, you wanted to see if you could've ever seen that guy again."

"Whatever. Let's get back inside. It's starting to snow again." Ace mumbled, tugging gently on the lead rope to lead Shadow back into the barn. Teagan bounced after him, quickly hooking her arm around his and leaning her head against his shoulder.

You had to admit, they were pretty damn cute together. They got along great, and she managed to always keep a smile on his face--and somehow awake. How that strange girl could fight narcolepsy, you'd never understand.

Waddling after Marco once he headed back towards T's house, you shuffled inside and took off your boots, shivering and then rushing over to jump on the couch and burrito yourself in a blanket in front of the TV and crackling fire.

The blond pineapple took his sweet time removing his winter gear before joining your side, sitting down on the other side of the couch and grabbing the blanket as well, pushing your feet with his so that he could enjoy the warmth as well. You didn't make any moves to fight him, just stretched out your legs to accompany his, happy to accept more warmth.

It was about 11:00 AM right now. You just had to hang out with the boys and Teagan until 2, and then they'd be kicked out, and the party would start.

This was going to be one hell of a party.

I N T E R M I S S I O N

"Do I have to wear this?"

"Why are you complaining so much? It's not like I shoved you in a dress."

"And I thought that I was picky about what I wore."

"B-but this. . ."

"Shut up, (Y/N). You'll live. It's not the end of the world." Teagan tugged on a strand of hair, causing you to lean backwards with her pull and groan. She had her hair pulled back in a French braid, a red and white spotted bandana above the maroon strands, flush against her slightly pale complexion. A little bit of eyeliner and black eyeshadow around her hazel eyes made them pop out, especially against Ace's sweatshirt--which she was wearing--and a pair of black leggings with a pair of expensive knee-high snow boots, that were tan.

"You're not wearing that damn trench coat there." She muttered, adjusting your shirt.

"What? Why?" You whined.

"Because your life doesn't revolve around it, and besides, has that thing even been washed?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, I washed it yesterday. And besides, what if the person who owns it is there? Gizmo did basically invite the entire population of Whitecap..."

"Fine. You're taking it off as soon as we get inside, though." She muttered, digging through her makeup bag.

You sat on her bed, restlessly bouncing your leg and fiddling your fingers. "Can we just go already?"

She pivoted on her heels towards you and suddenly sends a poof of setting powder onto your face, startling you and causing you to cough. She stuffs the powder away and zips up her makeup bag. "Done! Let's go!"

"What was that for?" You coughed, waving the floating particles away from your face.

"You don't want your makeup to run, do you?"

"I didn't even want to wear it."

"Well too bad, you have to."

There was a knock on the door. "I'M HEEEREEEEE~ LET'S GOOOOOO." Gizmo screeched from outside."

You struggled to grab the trench coat and tried your hardest to avoid Teagan herding you like you were cattle out of her house.

Swinging the door open, Gizmo squeaked. "Awww, (y/n), you look so cuteeee! Marco's gunna love this."

"Marco and I aren't a think, Gizzy." You huffed, wrapping the coat further around yourself.

"That's what you always say." She wiggled her eyebrows and skipped towards Kid's Jeep.

"What happened to your Jeep?" Teagan asked, giving you shotgun as she climbed in.

"Oh. My Jeep is in the garage. Kid got me a lift kit for our 4 1/2 year anniversary, so he's putting it on for me right now." She said, turning the key and letting his Jeep hum to life. "He's also putting on a steel bumper."

"Nice. Let's get going." You said with a soft yawn.

"It's only 7:41, no yawning!" Gizmo ensured, wiggling the steering wheel crazily.

"What, are you trying to kill us?" You asked, grabbing onto the 'oh shit' handle.

"Nope! We're just gunna take a detour! It'll be quicker, but bumpy!" She said, suddenly jerking the Jeep to the right, quickly throwing it into four-wheel drive and sending it deep into a snowdrift.

"GIZMO, WHAT THE FUCK?" You screeched as she cackled, slamming her foot onto the gas and sending the vehicle roaring. Teagan shouted with joy in the backseat, while you were just trying to keep your lunch in your stomach.

After what felt like 3 hours--though it was only about 10 minutes--Gizmo skidded the Jeep from 40 mph to 0 in the backyard of her boyfriend's house.

Feeling your stomach roll back into it's original place was a relief, and you gave yourself a moment to settle before one of the girls yanked you out of the car. Sliding out of the seat, you dropped into the snow and looked around. There was Ace's truck, Marco's truck, Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami all crawled out of Franky's dinosaur-sized SUV, while other people that were pretty familiar (and mainly attended the same school as you) pulled up as well.

Gizmo did invite the entire town. With a sigh, you felt yourself being dragged forwards. Here we go, time for you to die.

I N T E R M I S S I O N

"I'm going outside for some air, I'll be right back." You told Nami, nudging her shoulder and heading towards the door.

"Okay. Hurry back." She nudged in return, smiling softly and then returned to her conversation with Robin.

Wiggling your way through the crowd to the back door, you slid through and dodged tipsy people as they slipped across the porch, having slurred conversations. Wanting to be away from most of the partygoers, you jumped off the back porch and headed towards the fire pit, since it was crackling fire, and basically nobody was around it. Burrowing yourself further into the snug trench coat and plopping down into a camping chair, you found a stick and started to prod the fire. Pulling part of the coat up and over your nose, you suddenly realized it had a peculiar smell.

It was musky, with some pine needles mixed with cinnamon, it was a delectable scent, extremely tolerable. Warmed by the fired and soft fabric of the trench coat, sleep quickly consumed you.

A warm tinge on your face woke you, and you rubbed at it, seeing that it was a floating piece of ash from the fire. Thankfully it wasn't too hot to burn you, but still a little discomforting. It took you a moment to realize that you weren't the only one at the fire anymore.

The other person had their back towards you, shifting the logs of the fire as it popped and snarled against the cold air. The ambers of the inferno illuminated their skin, reflecting off of the rings on their fingers and giving you a quick glimpse of the tattoos etched in black ink on their fingers.

"Have a nice nap?" He asked, voice low, soft, and comforting. It was difficult to see his face as the lights from the house a few meters away blocked it, and his voice was almost unheard due to the murmurs of the party in the background.

"I guess? I didn't really expect myself to fall asleep here." You murmured softly, shifting in the camping chair. You didn't recognize him, but if he was hear, he was obviously invited to the party, right?

"No, I wasn't invited." He said, leaning back into the snow, his back still facing towards you. There was something atop his head, a hat, maybe? It looked pretty big.

You stiffly sat up. "How did you--?" 

"Oh, I know everything about you." He hummed, tilting his head to the side, just letting you have a glimpse of the smirk. "Where are your brothers, girl?"

Chills ran up your spine and you gripped at the arm of the chair, shifting enough so that if you had to run to the house, you could.

"I wouldn't suggest that." He mused, nonchalantly putting his hand above the fire. "You won't get anywhere near that house while I'm still around."

"What do you want?"

He chuckled low and dangerously, making you quiver. "You liking that jacket, huh?"

Moment of silence, then realization. "It's you."

"Bingo."

With a sudden urge to get away or scream, you bolted from the chair. You didn't even make it three inches before you were pinned to the snow, your camping chair hitting the white powder next to you. Both hands held in one hand stretched above your head, one leg was trapped at the thigh underneath his knee, the other to the side of you, being held with his foot. He wasn't hurting you, but putting enough pressure that you weren't able to fight back if needed.

His free cold hand slipped over your mouth to prevent you from screaming, making you freeze under his touch.

You took this moment to drink in the details of his face. Chiseled jawline, thin, chapped lips. A sharp nose, a large bushy hat, short and choppy black hair, and his eyes.

Those damn golden eyes.

"You look much better up close, especially in a vulnerable position like this." He murmured, pupils shifting accordingly to look over the prey he had captured.

"Let me go, asshole." You hissed, baring your teeth at him and struggling with your hands.

He bared his teeth right back, showing sharp canines and letting out an audible growl. "Shut up, girl. Do remember you are the submissive here, don't try to fight an alpha."

"Fuck off." You continued to squirm, and he quickly grabbed ahold of your hair and wrenched your head to the side, making you gasp slightly and cease all movement.

A low snarl burned at the bottom of his throat, crawling up until it almost came bursting from his clenched teeth. "You piss me off, you know that?"

You didn't have time to question it.

"I got told to avoid them, to stay in the woods. It was safest there. I didn't listen. I was young, stupid." His pupils dilated into slits as he growled softly. "When you saw me, you didn't run, scream, or anything. You almost touched me, then that damn wretch, he shot me, and I bit you." He grabbed your left hand, holding it close to your face so you could see the scars through the palm of your hand. "I did that. Me."

He watched as your (e/c) irises widened, remembering the juvenile wolf that bit you after your Uncle Roger shot it, how it took off, and how you could never forget those golden eyes.

"After that, I got in trouble, I was almost killed by that damn bullet. I barely managed to pull through. Then I just needed to see you. It was unbearable, waiting for you to get home from school. Because I couldn't watch you when you went into town, I couldn't know what you were doing, what was going on, anything."

"You went to blondies place, and I could keep an eye on you there. It wasn't my territory, but it wasn't claimed. I didn't think those things were still around here, not until it almost got ahold of you. I had to kill it, I couldn't let it touch you, not after you fell down that ravine. You would've died. There would've been nothing left. I wrapped you in my trench coat, held you close to keep you warm. I couldn't take you anywhere. I knew they were coming, and I would've just gotten in more trouble if I'd taken you. I didn't expect them to be on horseback, but I managed to get away just in time as that girl and her horse basically tore through the underbrush towards us."

"You, you were there? That was you?" You murmured softly. Yet he didn't answer your questions.

"There's something about you. I don't know what it is, girl. I don't get it. Why am I drawn to you? Like I need you? It doesn't make any sense." He grit his teeth and turned his head to the side, quickly scanning the surroundings and then turning back to you, leaning down.

You could feel his breath on your skin. It was hot, labored, giving you goosebumps. "It doesn't make any sense..."

His lips were almost on yours, when you heard the sliding glass door of the house get thrown open. He lifted his head, neck cracking at the speed he twisted his head around to see who it was.

It was Kid. His lips were curled in a snarl and he stepped off the porch, his shoulders rippling in distress, hands clenched into fists. Gizmo slipped out of the doorway, closing it silently behind him and looking towards you and the man holding you down.

Golden eyes met (e/c) as he looked back at you, and smiled softly. "Sorry to cut this short, girl. Looks like our party has been interrupted."

His entire body convulsed, releasing your appendages, but still standing over you.

There he was, six foot tall on four legs, standing over you. That once small, young black wolf from many years ago, now powerful and dominating, golden glittering eyes like confetti on the streets after Mardi Gras, was there.

A snarl from behind him made him pin his ears against his skull, lower his head and breathe in your scent one more time before he took off into the woods, sending snow flying.

Quickly sitting up, it gave you enough time to watch Kid's human body rip into a wolf, yet this one was a russet red, darting quickly after the black lupine.

Gizmo raced across the snow and quickly grabbed you. "(Y/N). Are you okay? (Y/N)?" She hauled you to your feet. "Look at me."

"Giz, Gizmo, w-what?" You were shaking, breathing heavily.

"Oh, (Y/N). You're so okay. It's okay. Don't worry." She pulled you close, and it took you a moment to see Ace and Marco come flying out of the house towards you.

A soft gurgling noise came from the tree line, Gizmo releasing you as the two brother-figures took ahold of you and made sure you were okay. She moved towards the red wolf, wrapping her arms around it's neck and burrowing her face into it's fur.

No, it wasn't an it. It was Eustass D. Kid. His wolf sighed audibly, then slowly shifted back into his regular form, arms automatically wrapping around Gizmo as she moved closer to him.

There were murmurs from behind you.

"She's got too much adrenaline going through her. She's going to faint at this point."

"(Y/N)? Are you going to be okay?"

You turned towards Ace.

"(Y/N)?"

 

 

Those golden eyes.


	5. Paradox

"W-wait, so, you're what?"

"(Y/N), we're--" Kid opened his mouth, but Ace raised a hand and silenced him. "Oi, don't try to silence me, mutt. I'm an alpha." He growled. Gizmo squeezed his bicep, and he calmed almost instantly.

"That doesn't matter at the moment. What matters is why the hell he's still following you." Ace huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you have any idea?"

"No! You think I wanted to be constantly stalked by a werewolf?! I've been called She-Wolf for years. Do you think I want to keep that nickname going?" You shouted, slightly irritated.

The living room was empty, Gizmo having kicked everybody out due to a 'family emergency'. You sat next to Marco, who was holding your delicate hand between his, rubbing your fingers. It was one thing that kept you calm during stressful situations.

Ace and Teagan were sitting across the living room on the love seat, while Kid and Gizmo sat in the armchair between your couch and the love seat. Killer was leaned over the back of the love seat with Bart. Thatch was holding Marco's shoulder with a white-knuckled grip. The blond was visibly shaking, trying to keep a calm exterior so he didn't freak you out anymore than you already were.

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and Nami stood in front of the fireplace, obviously displeased that you had figured out their dirty little secret that they've been keeping from you for years.

"Werewolves is an insult. We don't shift and tear people to shreds when the moon comes out." Killer's eyebrow twitched behind his mask. "We prefer lycanthropes. Or lycans. How hard is that?"

"Okay. Fine. Lycans. How many of you are there? And Kid, you mentioned Law being on your territory? You guys have packs?" You inquired.

Teagan sighed. "Look, hun, I know this is difficult, and--"

"I don't want to hear crap from any of you! I've known you all basically my entire life and nobody ever fucking told me about this shit!" You looked at Gizmo. "And you! You were the last person I expected to keep something from me. We grew up together!"

"(Y/N)--" Gizmo opened her mouth.

"Shut up! I only want to hear from one person right now." You huffed angrily, stomping your foot on the ground like an angry toddler throwing a tantrum. "And that does not include Ace, Marco, Gizmo, or Teagan. Or Nami."

"Fine. Let me explain." Kid sighed, moving forward and letting Gizmo sit on the armchair, she looked away, her heart tearing apart as her best friend raged.

"We're lycanthropes. It's not something we chose to have. It's genetic for some of us. For the others, they were inflicted with the curse. It's ancestry, ancient bloodlines, evolution, all the scientific shit in the world you can think of to explain it." He looked at you, making sure you understood before he continued on. "There are three main packs. One, Phoenix Pack, Marco. Two, Mugiwara Pack, Luffy. Three, Kid Pack, me."

"So then what is Law and his pack?" You inquired.

"I was just getting there. There used to be four packs, but one of them decided to rebel against the peaceful order of Whitecap, and they were banished. Heart Pack, Law. Also known as the Outlaw Pack. The only neutral territory is town, and at night, Law's Pack has free reign of Whitecap. They do have their rules, though."

"So, what do Teagan and Gizmo have to do with this? And Nami?" You asked as well.

"Those three have important parts. They're the secretary of the pack. No, not like an office secretary. Think of them as the human representatives. Every new moon all four of the pack's reps meet up, though Law doesn't have a rep, so it's usually himself. There's a no-fighting order during the meeting, and that's where we each discuss territory borders, hunting regimes, the treaties, and we also repeat the rules of Whitecap." Marco explained.

"Rules?" You inquired. There was so much going on.

"Don't lay hands on a citizen if they're not descendants or cursed, don't expose yourself in town during the day or at all, etc." Ace added on, counting with his fingers and then letting his hands drop to his side.

"Okay. I think I get it." You said, inhaling and letting out a heavy sigh to reorder your thoughts and the millions of questions you wanted to ask. "He--or, Law? Yeah. Law told me that after he bit me when Uncle Roger shot him when I was a child, he couldn't stay away. That he felt like he needed me. Why?"

"Son of a bitch." Ace hissed, punching a wooden support beam of the house. "He imprinted?" He exclaimed, looking at Marco with large brown eyes.

"You guys need to tell me what this is." You huffed. "I still don't understand any of it!"

"Imprinting is a term where a lycan has developed a connection with a human, or a non-cursed. Sometimes they can imprint on another lycan, but it's highly unusual. It's also highly unusual because they can only imprint in their human forms. It's basically what grandma used to call a 'soulmate'." Luffy said, suddenly becoming superior and speaking up without a smile on his face or a giddy tone of voice. "It seems like he's imprinted on you."

"But why me?"

"The ancestors believed in reincarnation, but it would only happen fifty years after the tribe member passed. There were lots of times where lycans would loose their husbands or wives at a younger age due to a strange famine that traveled through the pack that the lycans were immune to." Thatch said. "Everybody has a soulmate from the beginning of time until the end, and each reincarnation will have the soulmate of the other reincarnation. Does that make sense?" He asked.

"So you're saying I'm reincarnated from my ancestor that had a relationship with his ancestor, and he's the reincarnated version of that ancestor?" You tried to clarify.

"Precisely." Thatch said.

"So," you murmured, shuffling to the edge of the couch. "What do I do now?"

"There's nothing we can do. He's imprinted on you. You're his soulmate. We can't separate you, or take you out of Whitecap." Kid said.

"Wait, so, hold on. Is Gizmo your imprint? And is Teagan Ace's?" You asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yes." Kid sighed.

That explains why Kid and Gizmo had been together for so long, and that also made sense to why Ace had never dated somebody until Teagan. Because they had to wait for their imprint and didn't feel anything else for others. "Ok, so, you can't take me out of Whitecap. Why?"

"It'll kill you. And him." Robin said. "If he's a certain distance away from you without seeing you for an amount of time, he'll go mad, get what we call 'Love Blood', hunt you down, and kill you, then himself."

"Oh." You sat back. "That's a little...extreme."

"It's all a part of the curse."

"So he's never going to leave me alone?" You sighed, rubbing your temples.

"Not one bit." Teagan said.

"I'm just going to have to live with this, aren't I?"

[[ I n t e r m i s s i o n ]]

There was at least three inches of new fallen snow on your back porch when you got home, escorted by Marco and his pack. They weren't able to mark the territory, as it would break the border treaty and cause chaos, but leaving their scent around your house would surely keep the Heart Pack away from your house.

At least, that's what you hoped.

Sitting in the living room, watching a tv drama and sipping on some warm hot chocolate, bundled in blankets and a sweater, the sun was setting as everything closed down for Sunday evening. So much had happened over the weekend, it was almost unbearable. You'd get a headache from just trying to think things through and get ahold of what was to come next, but it was never expected.

As the night stars glittered in the dark sky of twilight approaching, you decided that you should get some sleep. You did have school tomorrow, after all. It would be back into that regular track, besides the fact that you knew that all of your friends were werewolves, or lycanthropes, as they preferred.

There was a small thump on your back door. It wasn't heavy enough to cause any damage, but it was loud enough to be noticeable. Turning your attention to the back door, you discovered a large black wolf sitting patiently, it's face squished up against the window, covering the glass with it's breath. At first you wondered which of your friends had a black wolf formation, but then you focused in on the glittering amber eyes, sparkling between the dark orange and bright golden color.

Glowering at him, you made a shooing motion with your hands. He ceased to move, and in retort of you telling him to leave, he pawed at the door, demanding you let him in. It was a silent conversation as you shook your head, and he pawed again, this time dragging his claws against the glass and making that uncomfortable screeching sound.

"No! You're not coming in like that."

He ruffled out the fur on his neck and made a nodding motion, smudging his nose against the door.

"No." You repeated. You watched his eyes roll and he started to paw at the snow, making himself a bed. You watched curiously as he circled about seven times before laying down with his back pressed against the window, separating the small strands of fur as it splayed out.

With a heavy sigh, you turned off the kitchen light and trekked down the hallway to your bedroom. You felt somewhat bad for leaving him outside, but then you remembered how flustered he made you feel, and that he had a fur, and was a damn werewolf. Ugh, lycanthrope. Whatever. Same fucking thing.

Slipping under the covers, it wasn't long until you fell asleep.

And outside your house, he waited for them to show up.

The nights were always quiet around your house, and he was the reason why.

He wasn't going to let them even touch you.


	6. New Face

The morning was brisk, two weeks later. It was your last week of school before Winter break, which meant Christmas and shopping for everybody. Snow was still falling, and it wouldn't be stopping anytime soon, at least not until the beginning of March. That was the downfall of living in Minnesota.

You sighed, watching your breath filter through the air as you adjusted the coat around your shoulders. It was Law's, like always. You had given it back to him multiple times, and he had only taken it because it smelled like you. As soon as it stopped, or it wasn't as strong as he wanted it to be, it would appear in your car after school or after you got groceries. It's like he knew you couldn't lock the Beetle because if you locked it, it would never open again.

Trust me, you already figured that out. He had a habit of putting things that belonged to him, or that smelled like him, somewhere in your car, and you locked it one time before heading into school. Coming out, it was safe to say that Marco had a new member of his pack, Kinsey, pick the lock on both doors. Then, the blond told you to never lock it again.

Maybe he was watching the entire time when Marco and Kinsey were trying to fix your situation, and that's how he knew. Well, whatever. There was basically no controlling him.

He still wasn't allowed inside your house in his wolf form, and the few times that he did come in, he would follow you around and just stare at you. He'd sit outside the bathroom door until you were done, sit next to you on the couch and supposedly watch the television, but really wasn't, because he was staring, like usual.

You'd tell him to stop staring multiple times, and he'd cease for about five minutes, before returning again.

Speaking of the devil, guess who decided to pounce on you and send you falling into a snowbank? Your psychopathic imprinter. Thankfully, for once he was in his human form, and not crushing you, but he was still extremely dominating and waiting for an answer on why you didn't let him inside the house last night.

"You know exactly why you weren't allowed in the house last night." You huffed, reaching out and pushing on his chest, but there was no budge.

"I would've changed had you let me in." He responded emotionlessly.

"You liar. You refused to change outside, like you always have! Those are the rules." You insisted.

"I would've been naked." He said.

"Then I really don't want you in my house." You sighed, shuffling to the left and managing to roll out from underneath him, standing up and brushing off the snow.

He straightened up as well, towering over you. "Why not?"

"I don't need a naked outlaw in my house." You responded, walking towards the Volkswagen.

"You would've liked the view." He purred, a small smirk on his face.

"In your dreams, Alpha." You rolled your eyes and sat down inside the car, to see him sit down next to you. "Get out."

"No."

"They're not going to be happy seeing you."

"Town's neutral ground, they don't have to be happy."

"You can't follow me into school."

"Yes I can."

"And how are you going to do that?" You inquired as you turned on the car and backed it out of the covered area, then down your driveway.

"I'll say I'm your personal tutor." He sufficed, looking at you, then out the window when you glanced at him.

"They won't accept that." You sighed.

"I've done it before."

"You've followed me into school before?" You sighed heavily. "Fine. Whatever. Just don't get me in trouble."

The car ride was silent, and more awkward than it should've been. You'd been his companion for almost a month now, yet there was still uncomfortable tension between the two of you. Turning the steering wheel to park the Volkswagen Beetle as the interior frame groaned in protest, you reached under the cab and pulled the emergency brake after putting the car in park and turning it off. Pulling the keys out of the ignition, you reached over your seat to grab your backpack, but Law already held it in his hands.

"I'll carry it." He said coolly.

"That's unnecessary, I can carry it on my own." You protested, reaching over to take it from him, but he opened the door and slid out just as your fingers brushed against the (favorite color) fabric of the bag. With a defeated sigh, you removed yourself from the vehicle as well and lead him into the school.

As you entered through the front doors and scuffed the snow off of your boots, Law did the same as he looked around curiously, his golden eyes wavering over you before turning away as you opened the door that lead to the hallway--crowded with other students, and lockers. A nice blast of heat hit your face as you shrugged off your coat in front of your locker, unlocking it and putting your stuff away.

"Are you just going to follow me around? We should at least get you checked into the front office." You murmured, looking at the tall lycan next to you.

"No need. They already know I'm here." He shook his head, looking past you. His pupils narrowed and the corner of his lips curled, like he was going to snarl. Reaching forwards and tugging harshly on his sleeve, it was your safest warning to not start anything as Marco, Ace, Thatch, Teagan, and Kinsey approached.

"Morning, (Y/N)!" Teagan bustled over, practically jumping on you. "Are you ready for winter break? We need to go Christmas shopping soon!"

You nodded at her, then turned your attention to the boys and Kinsey behind her. While you weren't listening, you couldn't help but stare at Kinsey. You had never really gotten a good look at her until now--especially when you noticed how close she was to Marco. Eyes narrowing in confusion, you looked between the two, wondering if one of them had imprinted on the other. It was concerning, but nevertheless, not really your business, as they apparently kept a lot more than just one secret from you.

"(Y/N)?" Ace asked. "Are you listening?" You barely heard him as you drank in Kinsey's details.

It was obvious her favorite color was blue, much like Marco's. Her hair was a beautiful dark ocean blue with some lighter strands of silver highlights, falling in waves over her shoulders, descending past her torso and barely touching the rise of her hips. Her eyes were a little concerning--one eye was brown and the other was green. You had never seen that before, but it looked good on her. She was somewhat thick, yet curvy in the most predominant way. Her chest was average, leading down to a well-toned torso and a dip before her hips--violin hips. You noted, remembering that it was a genetic trait for some people. Her skin was fair with a honey-colored tint, a hidden tan. Her fingers were long and slender, her nails colored blue at the end with black at the top, the color separated by a diagonal line of yellow. She wore one of Marco's plaid black and white flannels, a navy-blue turtle-neck sweater, some black leggings, and knee-high white snow boots.

"No, she's too busy staring." Kinsey giggled, wrapping her arms around Marco's bicep and leaning her head against his arm. "Probably because she's never met me before. At least, officially."

Marco cleared his throat, catching your attention as you approached him and the blue-haired girl attached to his side like velcro. "Hi, I'm Kinsey." She said sweetly, dispatching herself from the blond and wrapping you in her slender arms. Dear god, she was a petite thing, but strong as hell. "You're just as cute as Marco said you were!" She purred, holding you against her.

As your vision started to get blurry, Marco stepped up and peeled her off of you. "Alright, Kin. Don't kill my sister."

"I would never!" She feigned shocked.

"You did the iron hug again." Ace said, pulling at the collar of his jacket, referring to the fact that she had just squeezed all of the oxygen out of your body.

"Oh. Sorry." She smiled faintly. You forced a smile back in her direction as the first bell rang above you. "Class. Marco. Go!" She said, suddenly turning her back towards the group and shoving the blond towards his first class.

"Oi! You don't need to herd me there!" He shouted.

"You'll be late if I don't!" She retorted, and the two bickered as they disappeared around a bend in the hallway.

"That's Marco's imprint." Thatch explained.

"I think I caught onto that pretty quickly." You mused, turning back towards your locker and grabbing your needed supplies for your class. Once you had the necessary items, the group split off to turn to their classes and Law accompanied you to your first hour.

The school day flew by like a breeze. Law didn't get noticed at all by any of the teachers, and he was actually a really big help when it came to things you didn't understand. Like your chemistry class, for example. You were going to mix two flammable chemicals together, and he took them from you, switching them out with two others after briefly explaining that you would've just set yourself on fire had you done that concoction.

It wasn't until your sixth hour that he was noticed, your history class. Struggling with who was the mayor of Whitecap in 1981, he began to give you subtle hints, yet you didn't catch on quickly. The tall body of your teacher approached the table you were sitting at him with.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my class?" He questioned, leaning over with his hands on the table staring Law down.

"I'm Trafalgar Law, and I'm (Y/N)'s tutor." He explained calmly, keeping eye-contact with your teacher, yet no emotion in his eyes besides boredom.

"A tutor? I didn't think she was that bad at history." The teacher murmured.

"She's horrible at it." Law said bluntly.

"Hey!" You socked him in the shoulder, and he didn't even bat an eye. "Rude."

"Well, if you're her tutor, when was Whitecap, Minnesota founded?" The teacher asked.

"January 17th, in 1831 at 3:27 PM by a group of travelers who were leaving the towns of the witch trials." Law said, without even having to think about it.

The teacher straightened up, looked between you and the shifter sitting next to you, then nodded and headed to another table.

You looked over at him. "How did you know that?"

"I had a very experienced teacher when I was homeschooled."

The bell rang and you packed up your supplies. Once again, he took the bag from you and walked out the door, leading you to your car. "Where to next?"

"I need groceries." You stated, backing out of your parking spot and slowly picking your way through the traffic to the road.

"What's for dinner?" He asked, staring out the passenger window.


	7. Grocery Help

"What's for dinner?"

"I told you, I haven't decided yet."

"Can we have this with dinner?"

"We'll see, I don't know yet."

He threw it into the shopping cart anyways.

"Put it back."

"You said you didn't know yet." He retorted calmly. "You'll know eventually."

"Will you stop assuming things?" You sighed.

"I'm not assuming things. I know things." He replied, strolling down the aisle, scanning the shelves. His vision dropped and he crouched down, picking up a box of noodles from the bottom shelf, and standing up. While, in the meantime, he smacked the back of his head on another shelf, knocking off more boxes.

"Are you okay?" You asked, pushing the cart towards him and grabbing the boxes he had knocked off of the shelf.

"Fine." He replied, scanning the back of the box before tossing it over his shoulder and landing it in the cart. "Could we have macaroni?"

"I don't know if I want macaroni tonight." You pondered, putting boxes back.

"I want macaroni. I also want chicken." He stated bluntly, walking across to the other aisle. You rolled your eyes and followed behind him.

"You can't just demand what you want for dinner."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm the one cooking it, and I'll make what we both want to eat, not just you."

"Do you have something against macaroni and chicken?" He inquired.

"No, of course not--"

"So what's the problem with it, then?" Why the actual hell was he such an asshole right now? You decided to ignore him, which is the complete opposite of what you should do to a werewolf, apparently.

You grabbed a few cans of pasta sauce, olives, and some beans before moving on. Maybe chili would be good for dinner tonight? You'd have to ask Law, but then you decided you could have chili later. It was already late, and it would take too many hours to cook it. It would be about nine pm by the time it was finished. Sadly, you weren't a speedy cooker like Sanji, but even chili took time. Especially Grandma's chili.

Sanji had always tried to fight you for the recipe, but you told him you couldn't give it to him because it was a family recipe, and he wasn't actually blood-related to you. You also only made sure to add the hidden ingredients when he was too busy fawning over one of the girls, so he really wouldn't be able to figure it out.

That was one thing that pissed off the cook, besides someone insulting a lady, but that was about it.

Putting the stuff in your cart, you lifted your head to the sound of about a dozen cans falling from the shelf. And there he stood, looking down at the cans of ravioli that had fallen by his feet. He looked around, up at you, and while making full eye-contact, kicked the cans under the shelf.

"Would you just pick those up and put them back?" You shouted, death-gripping the handle of the shopping cart.

"Put what back?" He asked dryly as he turned his back to you and moved on.

You silently fumed and followed him, completely aware of the shopping assistant following behind you and cleaning up the messes he kept making.

In the cold section, while you were grabbing cheese and some lunch meats, you heard something else drop and a splat against the tiled floor. With an unladylike groan, you looked over to see Law walking away from yogurt cups that had busted open, after he purposely threw them down, of course.

This was all because you weren't paying attention to him. Ready to strangle him, you turned your cart around and walked the opposite way, wishing he'd get lost somewhere in the store and then just leave. A few minutes later, he was following you now, and dropping things on the ground still, making even more messes that the associate had to clean up.

You found yourself back in the pasta section, deciding that chicken and macaroni wouldn't be a bad idea for dinner, since you had just spent about an hour and a half following Law around the store and reprimanding him for throwing things.

You heard him shuffle, and you looked over your shoulder. "Don't. You. Dare." You warned as he pressed his arm against the top of a shelf parallel to his chest, covered in tightly packed boxes of macaroni.

Without even blinking, and making full eye contact, the asshole literally swept his arm across the shelf and sent all the boxes flying, macaroni spilling from the busted corners and torn holes. To make it even better, he slammed his fist against the now empty shelf and made the fucking thing fall down.

"LAW! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME BANNED FROM THE ONLY GOOD GROCERY STORE IN WHITECAP?" You screeched, picking up boxes of the macaroni and throwing it at him. "THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE ME PAY FOR THAT, YOU KNOW!"

The little fuckhead smirked, obviously getting a kick out of the fact that you were now absolutely pissed at him. Who did he think he was? He was acting like a mute three-year-old child throwing a tantrum because he didn't get the Scooby Doo fruit snacks. By knocking every fucking thing in the store off of their designated shelves.

"Excuse me," An associate who seemed to be 19 said. "I'll need you to leave the grocery store, now. You're disturbing the other shoppers."

Law didn't respond, as he crouched down to pick up a box of macaroni that wasn't busted open. He walked towards you and the cart, wanting to put it in, but the worker spoke up before he put it in, while you shoved his hand away, obviously displeased.

"Give me the box of macaroni, please." He said, clearing his throat. The werewolf looked at the worker, then nicely handed it to him. "Thank you, sir." He forced a fake smile towards Law, then turned to you.

"I'm sorry, are you alright? Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked, stepping towards the cart.

"I'm so sorry about him, he usually doesn't act like this, I swear he's actually an adult," You murmured, bending down to pick up the extra boxes of macaroni, disappointed. "Would you like me to pay for the destroyed boxes?" You asked, handing an armful over to the associate.

He shook his head and smiled. "No, it's alright, I couldn't ask a cute thing like you to pay for something somebody else did." You flustered a little bit, clearing your throat and proceeding to hand him more boxes.

The worker didn't notice it, but Law loomed behind him, dangerously close, holding a box of macaroni in his tattooed fingers.

"Well, the only thing I'm going to ask for in payment of the product damage is your phone number." He winked, taking more boxes from you and setting them aside.

"Oh, uhm, well, I. . ." You couldn't come up with an appropriate answer to tell him no, but you didn't need to.

Not when Law send crisp macaroni curls flying all over the aisle way as he smashed the box into the workers head. You were astonished as the powdered cheese from within the boxes dusted over the associate's face, hair, and work outfit. Your hands traveled up to cover your mouth as the macaroni-box-murderer wrapped an arm around your waist, pulled you against his side, pivoted the cart around, and started walking towards the cash register with you.

His golden eyes glinted dangerously as he grit his teeth.

"Mine."


	8. And The Ashes Fall

"Hello?"

 _"(Y/N)!"_ A familiar voice shouted through the phone.

You held the phone precariously away from your ear until she settled down. "Okay, Gizmo, be a big girl and use your words. We've worked on this for years, don't forget all that training when you call me." You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

She went silent for a moment before speaking up again, this time in a very inaudible whisper. " _Okay."_

"That doesn't mean you have to whisper."

" _Oh, okay!"_ She said in her regular voice--yet softer than usual, because she was almost always shouting. 

"So what's up? What did you call me for?" You asked, sitting on the couch. Law had his head in your lap, your fingers running through his hair as he watched the Christmas horror movie that was currently playing on TV. It was called Krampus or something like that. 

" _I just wanted to let you know that next Saturday, I'm having a secret surprise birthday party for Ace._ " She explained. _"It was Teagan's idea, but she wanted me to set it up because she knows just how great I am at parties_."

"Oh, okay, what time do you want me over there?" You questioned, looking out the window as flurries of snow descended from the cloudy sky and settled on your porch.

_"It starts at 5:00, but can you be there at 3:30 so you can help Kinsey, Marco, Thatch, Kid, and I help set everything up? You're also the best at cooking out of everybody I know, and you know his favorite foods, so I was wondering if you could do that, too."  
_

"Yeah, of course, anything for my favorite cousin. Who else is going to be there?" You asked, shifting your eyes down to Laws for a second as he sighed.

_"Everybody, really. Luffy's pack, my pack, Marco's pack, etc. Oh, bring Law with you, too!"  
_

You choked on any words, causing the outlaw laying in your lap to glance up, then look back at the TV. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

" _Of course it is! I already talked with the others and they said they wouldn't mind getting to know him better, since he's usually the vagabond."_

"Uhm, alrighty! We will see you on Saturday then, at 3:30." You smiled.

_"Great! We'll see you then! Love you! Bye!"  
_

"Love you too, bye." You said as the phone call ended with a click.

"So we're going to a party." He mumbled, wrapping an arm around your thigh--the one that he was currently resting his head on.

"Yeah, are you okay with that?" You asked, adjusting so you were more comfortable with where he put his hand.

"I'll just crash it again." He muttered, looking up at you curiously.

"No you won't, you'll just stick by me and everything will be fine." You smiled, running a hand through his hair. "Trust me."

"Okay." He said, turning his glittering eyes back to the television.

You really hoped this party would turn out good. You especially didn't want it to be ruined, due to the fact that it was your cousin's birthday, and it would be a horrible birthday if it was destroyed by a fight.

 

The week passed like a breeze, and soon Saturday was upon us. You had ordered Ace's favorite cake, red velvet, from a really expensive bakery that was out of Whitecap, Minnesota, and in chocolate-flavored icing, you wrote 'Happy Birthday Ace' in really fancy cursive letters. You were proud of your work, even if you had just spent $200 buying a beautiful red velvet cake decorated as a howling wolf for your cousin's birthday. 

_(not my picture, literally just searched up awesome wolf cakes on bing and I liked this one the best_ ).

It was totally worth it. His mind would be blown once he saw this. You had gotten to Ace's house before 3:30, as you had the cake ordered there instead of having it ordered to your place and then precariously driving it halfway across town. It was too risky, you did _not_ want this cake to be ruined. You also--with the help of Kinsey, who was really skilled in the kitchen, and Sanji-- cooked up Ace's favorite foods, made tons of appetizers and snacks, and got a punch bowl. This surprise party was going to be amazing.

"It's almost five! They'll be here any minute!" Koala came sliding into the kitchen in her fuzzy socks, Sabo following behind her. The two didn't live in Whitecap, instead in a town an hour away with their own pack called the Revolutionaries, but they wanted to make the trip up for his birthday through the blinding snow. 

Koala slid into your arms, having no momentum to stop whatsoever, so you caught her as Sabo came skating into the kitchen much calmer--and safer--to catch his fiance and take her back out of the kitchen so you could finish the food and so they could finish decorating the house.

Red, white, and blue streamers were thrown all over the place, along with balloons, a few stray pieces of confetti, and a ginormous banner that said 'Happy Birthday!' hanging on the great room wall. Ace had a huge house, and you soon figured out that it was because most of his pack stayed there whenever they could--which included Marco. All of the furniture in the great room had been stacked and piled in different areas, leaving the floor for a dancing area. The dining room table was covered with a happy birthday table-cloth, plastic cups, an assortment of soda pop bottles, the punch bowl, food, and the cake directly in the middle, towering above it all.

In the living room were his birthday presents, stacked a mile high and a mile wide from one end of the room to the other. Little to say, Ace was a spoiled little brat when it came to his birthday.

"I JUST GOT A TEXT FROM TEAGAN! THEY'RE COMING DOWN THE DRIVEWAY!" Kinsey shouted.

"GET IN YOUR PLACES!" Marco shouted after her. Everybody was laughing and scattering to their hiding spots as Luffy dived for the lights and shut them off. You and Law hid behind the couch in the living room, holding his hand excitedly as you noticed the headlights of Ace's truck light up the far wall of the room. The rumble of the engine ceased, and you heard Teagan talking about their date as she jumped down from the cab and followed him to the front door.

The doorknob slowly unlocked, then the deadbolt. The door swung open, and you could almost hear Luffy panting heavily in excitement. Thank god Nami was there to cover his noisy mouth. You didn't know the little shithead could breath so loud until now.

He flipped the lights on, looking like a deer in headlights when everybody jumped up and shouted _"SURPRISE!"_ It took him a moment to come back to his senses when his girlfriend pushed him into the house, laughing and shutting the door behind him. 

"W-what?" He muttered, still wide-eyed and scanning everybody in the room. "What is this?"

"It's your birthday party, duh." Sabo said, grinning as he stepped out from the closet.

" _SABO?!_ " Ace shouted as he jumped atop his brother, Luffy soon following close after. 

"Happy birthday, Ace." The blond grinned and the three boys hugged. Sabo wasn't definitely your cousin, but he had been adopted into the family when he was young, and him, Luffy, and Ace had been inseparable since then. 

The party took off from thereon, you turning towards Law and noticing a small, calm smile graced upon his pale, chapped lips. You hadn't seen him genuinely smile. You guessed this was the first, since he said he had never been invited to a party before--unless it was one of his pack member's party. He had a habit of showing up uninvited and crashing them, and you knew this for a fact. 

It was unknown with what was going on between the two of you. You felt close to him, safe with him, like nothing in the world was going to harm you. For once you believed that you were happy, satisfied with the fact that somebody appreciated you for who you were, somebody besides family and the ones you grew up with. Somebody who didn't care about the rumors that were spread about you. Little did you know that he really cared for you. He didn't understand it, the rush of emotions that he'd get when you'd look at him a certain way, when you'd speak, smile, laugh. He was still trying to adjust to the new life, the idea that it was his job to protect you. You were his soulmate, he knew that, and you knew the same with him. But there was something about you that he just didn't quite get. It wasn't just that you were his imprint, the reason he breathed, how he managed to wake up in the mornings, wanting the day to continue.

He had met many other women, but none of them had stood out as much as you did. He loved your laugh, the way your nose would scrunch up as you did so, the little snorts that you'd make and how they'd make you laugh even harder with your friends. He liked the way your hair framed your face, illuminating your skin with it's sleekness and color, how your eyes glittered when you looked at him, and he could see directly into your soul, your innocence, your pure points, the way your emotions danced across your face. 

The sudden thought that you could be taken away from him at any moment terrified him. His hand squeezed yours tightly, causing you pain, yet he didn't see it. His eyes were clouded with the 'what if's' that could happen if he left you alone for just one second, the things that could take you away from him.

"Law!" You saying his name quickly caught his attention, and he noticed you writhing your hand out of his death grip. "You're hurting me." You whimpered.

He suddenly released, taking your hand again, gentler this time, and rubbing it with his calloused fingers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

You looked up at him, noticing the distress in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but flashed a small smirk. "Nothing, I'm just not a fan of large crowds. I'm going to step outside." He said, kissing your forehead gently, pulling his hand away from yours and walking out the back door. He sat on the back porch, contemplating his emotions and what to do with himself now that he had you. Should he take you to the pack? Introduce you as his imprint, or as his mate? Things were too complicated at the moment. He shook his head, running a hand through his scruffy black hair and fiddling with the snow as it fell onto his coat and dusted his fingers, finally being alone with his thoughts to sort them out.

He could see you inside the kitchen, eating crackers and laughing with Kinsey, Teagan, Koala, Gizmo, Robin, and Nami. You were happy here, with your friends and family. He almost hated it, seeing how happy you could be without him. Though he got on your nerves, you couldn't tell that when you saw him, your eyes would light up, and you'd enjoy his company. He noticed it of course, especially when you drifted into the dining room to pick at more snacks and was approached by Kid.

He smelled the anxiety radiating off of you. His eyebrows furrowed as you spoke to the red-head, the opposing alpha. Kid was obviously displeased. He strained his ears to hear the conversation, but couldn't pick up on it through the glass door. Kid rested a hand against the table, slouched over with his shoulders hunched. He wasn't showing any threatening body language, no signs of aggression or anything, so he calmed. Eustass had no intention on harming you, he knew that much. But just the thought of it made his blood boil. 

"Where's the outlaw?" Kid inquired.

"He has a name, you know." You replied bitterly, scrunching your nose as Kid used the derogatory term for Law.

"Fine, where's Law." He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Better, thank you. He's outside, getting some fresh air. Why?" You asked, cocking an eyebrow. "He's not going to do anything, you know."

"He isn't trustworthy." He responded hastily.

"He isn't trustworthy to _you_. He's a great person, an asshole at times, but it doesn't mean that you need to constantly be watching him to catch the smallest mistake. Just leave him alone, why don't you?" You sighed.

"I'm just trying to watch out for the others, okay? There's been talk about him being in the house, and I'm just trying to reassure everybody that he's not up to trouble. I'm trying to give the guy a chance, (Y/N). He's your soulmate, after all."

"Who's talking about him?" You retorted, clenching your hands into fists.

"It's nobody important, it's fine. I've dealt with it, don't worry. Just have fun with the party, I'm going to go check on him, see if I can get to know him better." Kid said, leaning off of the table and passing you.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, Eustass Kid." You warned, using two fingers to point from your eyes to his. He rolled his eyes and chuckled, opening the door and walking outside to sit next to your outlaw.

You moved yourself back into the kitchen to start doing the dishes, reloading appetizer plates, chat with the girls, check on the others, pass out drinks, and make sure everybody was happy. You had been so distracted by busying yourself, you were shocked to look out the window and see Law and Kid ripping at each other in their wolves. 

Kid's teeth crunched down on Law's forearm, causing a yowl of pain from the Heart Alpha. It quickly caused the entire party to go silent, and you ran outside, Gizmo stumbling after you with Marco, Ace, Teagan, Kinsey, Thatch, Sabo, and Koala hot on your tail as you went to separate them.

"Law!" You shouted.

"Kid! Stop it!" Gizmo screamed, jumping off the porch and landing in a deep snowdrift. You saw her disappear for a second before you turned back to the two wolves. Your heart was pounding in your chest, blood rushed through your ears as your body shook with adrenaline.

"(Y/N)! Get away from them!" Marco shouted, diving off of the porch and charging towards you. 

"Move!" Ace hollered, knowing that if you got in the middle of it, you'd be torn to shreds, and that things would just get even worse.

The Phoenix Alpha and Beta weren't quick enough to stop you from jumping in front of Law, taking a blow to the shoulder from Kid's burly red paw,  his eyes glimmering in blood lust, his main target being the black wolf you had just  shielded the blow from.

You screamed in pain, along with Marco, Ace, and Thatch as blood spattered across the pure white snow, staining it the color of death. 

Tears rushed down your face as you watched Kid's pupils dilate from slits to wide saucers once he realized what he did. He backed away, stunned with himself for losing control that badly.

Thatch, Kinsey, Nami, Robin, Koala, and Sabo were trying to pull you away from the two wolves. 

Law was enraged. Fighting him was one thing, but now that Kid had inflicted harm upon you, his _soulmate_ , the reason he breathed, lived, existed, the outer edges of his golden irises were rushing red, his vision was blurred as he focused on the red wolf stumbling away who soon realized that he was about to die. His eyesight ran black, the only thing he was seeing was your the blood-stained snow, you writhing about in pain and screaming as the others tried to calm you, and the cause of your pain.

That was the downfall of being imprinted on another. If they were damaged in any way by an opposing lycanthrope, it's the opposite's part to lose control, and tear the attacker to shreds until revenge was caused--usually resulting in death.

Kid watched his life flash before his eyes as a savage snarl ripped through Law's throat, the golden eyes blood-shot and ready to kill. He reminisced every moment he had with Gizmo, the love of his life, the way she calmed him down. He knew he was going to die, there was no stopping Law, now that (Y/N) had been injured. Kid regretted the mistake he made, and he knew it would haunt him for the rest of his reincarnations, that he could injure his soulmate's best friend. His eyes searched the backyard, looking for the blonde girl with red tints in her hair, wanting the last thing he saw to be her, the beautiful woman that saved him from the demons that drowned him for years.

He saw her, standing on the porch, tears streaming from her green eyes as she screamed. He didn't feel any pain that Law inflicted on him. He was numb, thinking about the time that he first met her, and how the world stopped turning.

The most disturbing noises slipped from his throat as Law mutilated him, tore him to shreds, splattered the side of Ace's house with his blood. 

He refused to look at anything other than his girlfriend. He had so many plans for the future with her. He wanted kids, even though he hated them. He wanted a future. He wanted to propose to her on New Year's, ask her to marry him, to spend the rest of her life with him. He wanted to grow old with her, hold her hand as her hair grayed and she never stopped smiling, making him feel like the only man in the world.

He was losing too much blood, the last bite was coming, and he knew it. The Heart Alpha was going for his throat next, slice the jugular vein with his canine and take his last breath.

Eustass couldn't help but think of her last name finally being his. 

Trinity 'Gizmo' Wyvern-Eustass Kid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a gunshot, just as he took his last breath.

 


	9. Deeper Scars

The steady sound of a heartbeat on the electric monitor filled the deathly silence. The room was a sterile white, bouquets of flowers littered along the windowsill, along with four or five 'get better soon' cards. It was sickening, seeing the flowers there. They were already beginning to wilt, as if the hopelessness that ran the room dry was plucking at their petals.

You couldn't stand in the room any longer, pushing yourself off of the doorway with your good shoulder and quietly walking to three rooms down, and across the hallway. He was in bed, sitting up and staring at the tv with a boring expression on his face. Half of his chest was bare, wrapped diagonally across his torso, left shoulder, right bicep, and right forearm. There was a long, gnarly scar that ran vertical down his right collarbone, still puffy and swollen from the recent staples used to close it.

His eyes shifted to yours, and the usual cold gaze softened as he shifted to the side of the bed, inviting you in to cuddle with him. He knew you were heartbroken, devastated, falling apart. He felt horrible for the things he did.

Crawling under the soft blanket that you had brought from home--he refused to sleep with the hospital blankets-- you carefully rested your head on his shoulder. Using your pointer finger, you traced the tattoos littered on his chest, reaching down to his left hand and holding it close, writing out the letters of 'death' spelt out across his fingers, flexing them gently for your own entertainment. His calm breathing soothed you, just enough for your eyes to flutter with his sleep, eyes glazed in complete exhaustion.

He held you close, wishing so hard that he didn't tear everything apart. But once he had seen you get struck, he snapped. He started shaking, his heart pounding in his chest at the memories of your screams of pain ripping through his brain like a razor.

You automatically squeezed his hand, knowing he was troubled for the birthday party ruined. You sat up, shuffling slightly to pull him closer to you and placing his head against your chest.

You were wearing his sweatshirt, it smelled of you, his comfort, and him, reminding him of who he was and how he had to stay strong so you didn't collapse as well. But underneath the sweatshirt, your shoulder was wrapped in bandages and a thick layer of gauze, covering the 37 stitches leading from the slope of your shoulder down to your elbow, a jagged line that would haunt everybody for the rest of their lives.

He nuzzled his face into the jacket, soon leading you both to sleep.

The sound of the hospital door room opening rose you from your slumber, causing you to lift your head and look up as two figures approached. You pulled the blankets closer, covering him more. "Who are you?" You murmured, keeping your voice low. "He's sleeping, leave."

"We're his pack mates." One whispered. "I'm Shachi, and this is Penguin." He said, pointing towards himself and then the one standing next to him. "How is he?"

"I'm fine." Law said, his eyes still closed. He had been awake as soon as the door had opened. "Any reports?"

"None so far, Alpha." The man named Penguin said. "No infiltration on the territory or any signs of invasion."

You sat up slightly, causing Law to curl his fingers into the sweatshirt, asking you not to leave. "I'll be back, I need to go check on her and see how she's doing." You said softly, running your hands through his hair to reassure him. "I'm just down the hallway, call if you need me."

He let you rise from the bed and put your slippers back on before moving away once more, leaving the room to leave your soulmate with his subordinates as they spoke in hushed voices. Moving to the left of the hallway and passing by three rooms, you stopped at the room with the abundance of flowers on the windowsill and cards.

Your eyes softened when you saw her, curled carefully around his body, trying her best not to shift him, cause him more pain, reopen a wound, or stress him out. She was wearing his shirt, her hair dull, tangled, and greasy as it covered her face. The damp spots of tears littered the pillow, her cheeks pale with the slight shimmer of fresh tears dripping from her green eyes. They were dull, lifeless, and glazed over with exhaustion.

She had just watched the love of her life almost die in front of her. Her soulmate, the king of her kingdom. He had lost rhythm of his heart three times, slipping over the steep cliff to death--gone for the longest time of five minutes. She had barely managed to keep herself under control when they finally stabilized him. He went into immediate emergency surgery to fix his collapsed lung, his exploded spleen, and to repair the internal damage from the fight. The trauma was almost too much, he barely made it.

The sympathy the doctor's showed her drove her over the edge, made her so angry. She almost lost it, everything. And all they could do was say " _we've done everything we can, but it's very unlikely that he will recover. The trauma he experienced was too severe, and he will be in a coma the rest of his life_." They gave her the option to pull the plug, and that's when she snapped.

_"Get out! I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT! YOU CALL YOURSELVES DOCTORS?" She shoved one, pushing on his chest. "You don't deserve your job! You're supposed to save him! Not tell me that he'll be in a coma for the rest of his life!" They tried to speak, but she shouted again, Killer, Heat, and Wire holding her back. "GET OUT! Don't ever come in this room again or I'll put YOU in a coma! I'll make you wish you were dead, you pieces of shit!"_

Time had seemed to slow down as the fire that used to dance in her eyes faded out that day. You knew things would never be the same again. Gizmo wasn't herself anymore, but she tried her hardest to stay strong. When he was down, the pack was looking at her for answers. She had to keep order while chaos overflowed.

Looking down at the table with the untouched cup full of water and the sandwich that was already looking dry and depressed, you sighed softly. She needed to eat. You passed by your shared room with Law, and his golden eyes glanced you over before returning to the conversation at hand. He had refused to settle anywhere you were not.

After he had gotten to the hospital and been put under anesthesia to remove the bullet from his shoulder and have his wounds stitched up, he awoke in a panicked state, demanding to know where you were and if you were okay. You had rushed into the room, pulling yourself close, calming him from his panic attack. He had multiple when you weren't around, terrified of what could be happening to you. So from that moment on, you asked to share a room with him during your stay, and they didn't deny it at all, seeing that he was calmer when you were there.

Little to say that you were told to stay in the hospital, but basically had free roam, since you weren't in a dire situation of care. They just wanted to keep you for awhile to make sure things were going smoothly while you walked back and forth from Law's room to Kid's room, to the cafeteria, and to see the others when they visited.

Riding the elevator down three floors and deciding to get Gizmo some chicken caesar salad, a cup of fruit, and some hot tea, you traveled back upstairs to find her awake and running her hands through his red hair.

You walked inside and set the tray of food onto the table. She heard the soft rustle of your clothing as you moved, and she lifted her head, breaking a small, feeble smile in your direction. "Hey." She croaked, her throat dry and her voice practically gone from crying for the past twelve hours straight.

"Hey." You said warmly, moving the table closer to her as she slowly removed herself from his side. "How'd you sleep?" You wondered, watching her open the cup of fruit and stab at a piece of cantaloupe with the plastic fork.

"I can't get the image out of my head." She murmured, leaning her head on her hand which was covered by the long sleeve of Kid's shirt.

"I know, neither can I. I'm sorry." You said, opening the chicken caesar salad and putting the dressing on it for her, shaking it to make it even just how she liked it. You pushed it towards her as she observed the chunk of cantaloupe on her fork, not bothering to touch it. Her dull green eyes flickered to the plastic container, and she nudged it back towards you with the back of her hand.

"Giz, you need to eat." You huffed, moving it back towards her. "You haven't eaten or slept in the past three days."

"I'm not hungry." She whispered, dropping the cantaloupe back into the cup. "I'm fine." She forced a small smile, trying to make herself seem better than she was.

You knew she was lying. She was your best friend, you knew everything about her. "Would he want you to starve yourself?" You said, referring to Kid.

She stopped all movement, lifting her head from looking down at the table and then up towards you. "What?" She pursed her lips, gritting her teeth behind sealed lips. Now was not the time to explode. _Maybe I misheard her. She wouldn't say something like that._ The blonde thought, her gaze hardening.

"Would Kid want you to starve yourself?" You furrowed your eyebrows, quickly realizing your mistake when she suddenly stood up, sending the chair she was sitting on to fall backwards and clatter against the floor.

"He wouldn't be in this condition if you didn't jump in front of them fighting." She snarled, digging her nails into the sleeves of her shirt. "You're the reason Kid is going to die, I fucking hate you, you damn she-wolf." Her voice was getting louder with each word, and you leaned back, straightening slightly. "No wonder nobody likes you, because you're always ruining other people's things and getting them killed!" She was screaming now, causing the attention of medical assistants, nurses, and doctors in the hallway.

The conversation between Law and his subordinates faltered to silence when he recognized it was Gizmo that was screaming. Marco, Ace, Kinsey, and Teagan were in Law's room, looking at him. "Don't you move, we'll figure out what's going on." Kinsey instructed, looking towards Shachi and Penguin. "Don't let him get out of that bed." Law tensed as the group left the room, but didn't make a move.

"Just like you got grandma killed!" Gizmo finished, swiping the salad and fruit cup off of the table, sending it across the floor.

Your eyes widened, remembering what happened that day. Why would she ever bring it up?

_"Go wait in the car, grandma! I'll be out in a minute, let me just make sure the back door is locked." You said cheerfully, moving through the living room to the sliding glass door, locking it. Shuffling through the kitchen, you noticed that Grandma forgot her purse, so you grabbed it for her, smiling at her cute forgetful antics. Opening the front door, you looked towards the Volkswagen._

_"Grandma! You left your purse in the kitchen again!" You called, stepping off of the front mat and slipping on the ice on the porch. With a yelp, you landed harshly on your bottom and managed to catch yourself with your hands._

_Something warm and sticky was seeping through the white fabric of your gloves. Lifting your hand, you noticed it was red. Horror flooded through you as you looked to your right, seeing your grandmother at the bottom of the two steps, her head busted open._

_"Grandma?"_

You never should have let her walk out of the house on her own. She was in her late seventies. She couldn't afford to get injured, especially with how brittle her old bones were. You were taking her to a doctor's appointment for a cough that disastrous day.

It was instantaneous, the sharp sound of your hand hitting Gizmo's cheek. You recoiled at the stinging sensation, hissing softly as you looked over to the blonde. Her head was still tilted to the side, her hand placed on her red cheek. Anger flared through her green eyes as she grit her teeth and looked back towards you.

"Oh my god, Gizmo, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--" You were cut short as she shoved you away from her, sending you stumbling against the wall. She was approaching quickly, her hand balled into a fist as she reeled her arm back. Before she could land the punch, you jabbed her in the stomach with an uppercut punch, knocking the wind out of her when you sent a right hook towards her face, breaking her nose.

Her left arm reached over and grabbed your hand, squeezing it tightly until you dropped your fist. She took your pinky and ring finger, snapping them harshly to the side as you felt the bones splinter.

With a cry of pain, you looked back up terrified, as her fist came back at you again. But the impact never arrived, and you felt arms pulling you away. It was Teagan and Ace, checking on you while Kinsey and Marco tried to calm her down.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" She tried shoving past the two to reach you, wanting to explode even more. "GET OUT OF HERE YOU SHE-WOLF! GO RUN TO YOUR USELESS SOULMATE!" She was writhing in anger.

 

"I SHOULD'VE SHOT HIM IN THE FUCKING HEAD WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!"


	10. Reconciled

Embers bloomed from the fire as the logs cracked and popped against the heat. The soft glow in the living room was calm and quiet. His hands brushed over your shoulders, reaching up to the side of your cheek, cupping it gently before they traveled back to your waist. All of this constant touching while he read the few words he was able to catch before you flipped the page of your book.

Reading by the firelight was satisfying, to say the least. His touch made everything warmer, and more like home. You leaned back, resting your head against his chest, covered by a thin cotton shirt. His golden eyes shimmered against the illumination from the warmth as he drank in your details, how your lips would twitch into a smile when you read certain parts of the book, or how your tongue would slightly poke out from between your lips as you moved on to the next page. The soft blanket resting over your torso and legs that would rise and fall with every breath you took.

In other's eyes, you were just a simple girl who was trying to get through her last year of high school, find a job, be in a relationship, and deal with the drama splitting her apart from her friends. Yet you were actually low-key freaking out at the fact that it had been two weeks since Law and Kid got in the fight.

And Kid was still in the hospital. And Gizmo still had not spoken to you. It was Christmas Eve, and you had just gotten your fingers out of the splint—after she decided to break them. Thankfully fingers could heal a lot quicker than other bones, but it still hurt from time to time, depending on how you moved them or used them.

Eyes drifting over each sentence and occasionally watching your fingers push the page to continue, you relished in the quiet moments you had with Law. It was peaceful, calm, and honestly one of the best things you could've asked for in that moment. He was the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane where all was silent and oddly comfortable.

There was some oddness about him, and there always would be, but you couldn't help but love it. It just made him who he was. Jumping back onto the tracks after derailing from the thought train, you smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around your lower waist and pulled you closer, nuzzling his nose into the side of your head and sighing heavily.

This was all you needed, just this tranquility with your soulmate. January would be the marking point of four months of knowing who he was, that you were meant to spend the rest of your life with him. Yet, as you thought about it, there had been no real signs of endearment. Yes, the nuzzling, hand-holding, cuddling, sleeping in the same bed, hugging, but there had never been any kissing, no sex, no 'I love you's or anything.

But maybe it was too soon for that. Who knew. You were sure of your strong feelings for him at some points, and others, you weren't sure because of how easily he could irritate you. But apparently that's what love was. That's what Gizmo had told you, before the fight.

Soon she wouldn't leave your mind, and all you could do was sigh softly. You knew what was necessary, and that meant untangling yourself from Law and leaving for the hospital where she was. Gently closing your novel, you let it settle on your lap. There was calm silence, comfortable, soon to be disturbed by your voice.

"I'm going to go and see Gizmo and Kid." You murmured, sitting up slightly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He responded, shifting to let you off of the couch.

"No, but just because we got in a fight doesn't mean I'm not going to give them their presents." You explained, padding silently to grab your jacket and slipping on your boots.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He inquired, looking over the back of the davenport.

You shook your head. "No, this is already going to be bad enough as it is, I don't want to make it worse." You unlocked the front door. "I should be home in about an hour. Don't do anything reckless, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." He murmured, rolling over onto his side to continue watching the television.

The drive was filtered through snow, but the roads were clear, like usual. A light layer of white powder covered the streets as the bulldozers continued to plow through it. Though you knew there was still ice laying underneath, you couldn't help but send mental thanks to Marco and Ace who had put your chains on the rickety old Volkswagen.

Turning left into the hospital parking lot, you listened to the sound of the chains hitting the asphalt, and soon the salt underneath your boots leading into the front doors.

"Hi, I'm here to see Eustass Kid in room 263." You greeted the front desk, setting down the shopping mall bag on the floor next to you as you signed in.

"I'm sorry, took 263 isn't taking any visitors at the moment." The receptionist apologized.

"Oh. Well, then can you take these up for me?" You asked, holding up the bag. "I just wanted to drop these off and open these up for him."

"Oh, you're here for Christmas then, aren't you? You can go up then." She said, returning to the computer and filling the silent lobby with the tapping of her nails against the keyboard.

Riding the elevator up, the hushed ding of the second floor and the opening of the doors introduced you to a couple waiting for the elevator. You excused yourself out of their way and trekked silently down the hallway, anticipating seeing Gizmo there. Anxiety flooded through your veins.

What if she attacked you again? Verbally? Physically? Emotionally? You ached and begged yourself that she wouldn't. That maybe you could just drop off the presents and leave. Maybe she wasn't there. Maybe she was just in the cafeteria getting herself something to eat—though you absolutely doubted it. Maybe Marco picked her up and took her somewhere to eat? You doubted that, too, actually.

Digging your fingernails into your skin, bringing you back from the rush of anxiety-fueled thoughts, you reminded yourself to breathe as you approached the door to the room.

There she sat, laying with Kid in the bed again. In the exact same position you found her two weeks ago. She looked horrible, her skin was paler, hair thrown up in a sloppy bun with dozens of stray hairs hanging over her eyes, dry eyes, hollow cheeks, it was obvious she had lost weight. But, to your satisfaction, there was an assortment of empty fruit and vegetable Tupperware, forks and spoons littered on the table, along with about 7 or 8 bottles of water, and one can of blue Mountain Dew soda. That was Marco's. He was the only one in the group that drank the blue Mountain Dew.

So, thankfully, somebody had been here making sure she took care of herself.

Her dull green eyes lifted once she saw your figure standing in the doorway. She didn't say anything as she lowered her gaze and proceeded to ignore you.

Understanding that she didn't want you there, you raised the bag, disturbing the uncomfortable silence between you and your best friend.

"I'm just going to leave these here." You murmured, loud enough for her to catch it. Setting the bag by the door, out of the way for where nobody would trip on it, you turned to walk out.

"I'm so sorry."

Her voice was cracked and dry, and you stopped, looking over your shoulder to look in the dark room.

"For saying all those horrible things about Grandma and accusing you of everything. It's my fault. I should've been keeping an eye on him from the start."

Her voice quivered. She was crying.

"I thought things would be good because it was Marco and Kid's idea to invite Law, because he makes you happy, and you make him happy. But I should've known when people started talking about Law being there. I knew Kid was going to play it innocent and try to fix things without anybody getting hurt. But he's so brash, and doesn't know how to say the right things, so he provoked Law to fight." She choked on a sob, weakly sitting up in the bed. You turned around to face her completely and stepped forwards towards the bed.

"Can you please forgive him and me? You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you or shove you away. He didn't mean to hurt you, he never would." She runs her fingers through his hair and looks at his pale complexion.

"I forgive you both." The words come from your heart as you yearn to comfort her through the pain.

A small smile graced her blushed lips, but it broke quickly. "The doctors say he might never wake up. That he could be like this for the rest of his life, or if I pull the plug." Tears streamed down her cheeks, dampening her clothes.

"Whatever you think you need to do, you can do it. I'm here for you." You say, sitting down in the chair next to the bedside.

"I can't unplug him. I'm pregnant. I can't raise this baby on my own." Gizmo said quickly, her bottom lip quivering as she grit her teeth.

No words could come out of your mouth as you looked at her, but somebody spoke for you.

"Y-you're.......preg-pregnant?" A voice croaked.

Both you and Gizmo looked at him, astonished. It was unbelievable.  
  


He was awake.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so damn long to update. I've been pretty busy with my college classes, horses, and my new job. Anyways, if you guys thought Kid was actually going to die, idk what's wrong with you. But this was just a big turning point in the story before we continued on to other situations. There's just going to be one small filler chapter and then we're moving on to the next big picture.


	11. It's Just A Little Ice

It was the one time that Law wasn't home with you that something had to happen.

He had to meet up with his pack, some official errand that they did on the third night of each month. January, the new year, the new you. Yet everything was already changing, and you didn't feel so new at the moment.

It wasn't snowing, and that was a relief. It was astonishing to find not as much snow on the ground as there was before. Maybe you could thank the warmer temperatures for that.

And it wasn't _really_ that warm. Highest temp during the winter months was 45 degrees, if you were lucky. For the past week, it had been easing to at least 47, just shy of popping to 50.

Though it wasn't much of a temperature change, you had adjusted to the 30 degree weather so quickly that you already wanted to wear shorts outside. You tried that.

It didn't work out very well.

Law found it amusing. Though, he finds everything you do amusing, because he never gets cold.

Damn bastard was lucky that he was a lycan and was always warm with that fur that he has and that spicy monster blood running through his veins.

You needed groceries. Those were an essential to survive in Minnesota, no matter what people told you.

Bundled up in some sweats, one of Law's flannels, his jacket, and a beanie on your head, you buried your nose in your scarf as you freaked out to the little bug sitting in the gravel driveway, looking as old as it was new.

Your porch was clear of snow, rock salt scattered around it to prevent slipping. You thanked yourself and Law for doing that, or else it never would've gotten done. Stepping off the wood and down the walkway, you were not eager to yank the vehicle door open against the cold weather and sit in it for about ten minutes, waiting for the darn thing to heat up.

Slipping the keys into the lock, you jiggled it slightly as you turned it to the left, waiting for the satisfying click to announce an unlocked door. Yet it never came.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you tried again. It wasn't frozen. You knew that for sure, or else the lock wouldn't have shifted. Again, you tried. Still didn't work. With a frustrated sigh, you stomped around to the passenger side door, wiggling the key into the slot and attempting to unlock it. Yet this door was frozen. With all your force, you attempted to unlock it, yet nothing.

Back to the drivers door. After three tries, it finally unlocked. The stupid thing. You really just needed a different car. A newer car. Maybe a Jeep or a truck. Or an SUV. Something that had four-wheel drive and wasn't ancient.

But were you made of money? Of course not.

The fucking car wouldn't start, next. The engine sputtered, but the spark didn't ignite. You couldn't try this too much longer, or else you'd flood it.

After many failed attempts, knowing you had reached your limit, you got out of the car, and slammed the door shut behind you. You'd go back inside the house and get groceries once Law returned. He liked going to the store with you, anyways, even if he did make a mess.

Though it was annoying, you appreciated the company.

Trekking to the front door, you noticed it was locked. Back to the car, you noticed the door was locked, too. With your fucking keys inside.

Jesus Christ. Could this day get any worse.

Screaming to yourself with your mouth closed, you voyaged to the side of the house where a pine tree stood, just brushing against the edge of the bay window of your room. Crouching down, there was a small clay wolf figurine with it's nose peaking out of the pines. Delicately pulling out the figurine, you removed its head, shaking the body lightly, a small gold key fell out into the snow.

Returning the figurine to its rightful position, you snatched the key and rubbed it on the end of your sleeve, hoping to warm it up a little bit so it didn't freeze your fingers off.

It was then, that the traction on your snow boot ceased to exist.

 

* * *

 

Lean arms wrapped around your torso, pulling you up out of the semi-shallow snowbank. Mind hazing back to reality, your entire body felt numb. You couldn't feel your lips, your legs, fingers, toes, anything. It was like you were a giant rag doll.

Your vision was blurry, ears ringing. Voices were delayed, sounding like they were underwater. The only thing you recognized around you was the quick flash of his golden gaze.

They were filled with worry, a little bit of amusement, but more concern than anything. His fingers drifted to the snow where he found the spare key, cradling your freezing body against his antagonizing fiery torso—both temperature wise and physically.

He almost knocked the door down as he rushed to the bathroom. The quick movements were making you sick, and you felt the lackluster breakfast of a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a cup of coffee ready to spill.

You recognized your reflection in the bathroom when he flicked the lights on. He attempted to let you stand, yet your knees buckled underneath you.

He caught you quickly, lifting you up and setting you on the granite counter, turning around to turn on the shower. It was mildly steaming, but not enough to scald you.

Making way with stripping your clothes off, he left you in just your panties before grabbing a tank top that he had mysteriously laid on the bathroom heater—you don't know how or when that got there—and pulled it over your head.

He plunged you into the warm water, regretting his decision of throwing you in there at your disturbing sounds of discomfort, but he knew you needed it. Hypothermia could kill, and he wasn't willing to lose you so soon.

Your fingers were tightly locked around his wrist, the rest of your body writhing and shuddering under the scalding water as it felt like you were set on fire. The water was maybe about 95 degrees, but it felt like you had been thrown into the pits of hell.

He pried your fingers off of his tattooed skin, letting you whine in agony at the lack of his touch. He was there to comfort you, Where was he going?

Within thirty seconds, he was holding you in the shower, cradling your body in his as he plugged the tub and sat patiently as it filled with the warm water, holding you still.

It wouldn't be until later that you noticed he was only in his boxers.

His tattooed skin steamed under the warm water, flinching at your slightest touch. He didn't mind the water, or being so close to you. It was the fact that you were in such a weak state, and the wolf within him wanted to take advantage.

He managed to hold his tongue, swallow the urges once you momentarily came back to your senses.

No more ringing, the world was focused, and his voice was as smooth as honey as it always was. He didn't sound like he was drowning this time, and you _loved_ it.

No words were needed once he noticed you were substantially regaining your strength. He slowly removed himself from the tub, drying himself off and wrapping the towel around his waist. He wandered into your shared room, getting you some comfortable pajamas and clean underwear. Helping you out of the water, he was quick to drain it and assist you with drying.

He turned his back so you could change. It wouldn't make a difference if you fainted again. His reflexes were quick enough to catch you before you got anywhere near the floor.

Law escorted you to the living room where the fire was bundled high and on full blast. Pile of blankets on the couch, including some of those heated ones. TV was on low volume, but loud enough to be understood.

Wrapping you up against him next to the fire, he sure as hell made a comfortable pillow once you succumbed to the dark of sleep.

The next morning, you had a fever.

So, bundled up in a burrito of blankets with your soulmate wasn't a bad idea.

Penguin, Shachi, and this stranger named Bepo dropped by the house to pick up the grocery list you had made the previous day to go fetch them.

There was no way you were leaving the house for the next few days, and Law wasn't about to leave you here alone, either. Besides, he'll never admit it, but those supermarkets overwhelm him when he's not with you. Also, he'd just get himself into trouble which would more than likely result in him being banned from the store, which meant he wouldn't be able to accompany you on the trips. He'd have to sit in the car. Ugh.

Bored of the movie marathon running across the channel, you rolled onto your side, facing into his lean chest, opposed to your earlier spooning position.

He sighed contently as you nuzzled into him, arms wrapped around you as his eyes glazed over with boredom at the TV. Tucking his chin in, he brushed his nose against yours and pulled you closer.

It was a moment of gold eyes boring into (e/c) ones, though neither of you were complaining. The TV was just background noise as the two of you delved into each others external emotions, drinking in the details of your partner and admiring them for who they were.

That's when it came.

It was simple, almost bland, yet energizing at the same time.

Your whole body felt a burning sensation—a good one this time—as his chapped lips brushed over yours. It was smoldering, breath-taking, life-changing, the simplest thing.

Yet he took it to the highest level with just who he was, even with his existence.

"You're going to get sick, you know." You muttered softly as he pulled away, brushing the knuckles of your hand against his jawline.

A cocky smirk graced his lips.

"I don't get sick."

 


	12. Crossed The Borders

Voracious pounding on the front door disturbed the silence of the January night. You sat up, leaning back on your arms as you wearily blinked, scanning the room for your alarm clock. 3 am. What the hell was going on? Still dwelling in a sleep-filled haze, you looked to your left and saw Law sitting straight up, back stuff and shoulders rigid. You could see his jawline in the dark of the room, and the soft glow of his amber eyes calmed you.

He had been in this position since the unwelcome visitor came within a fifty foot radius of the house, sensing the aura flaring with mixed emotions. Eyes sharp and trained on the frame of the front door which was barely visible from the bedroom, you almost heard a growl rumble from his chest.

He was more primal during the night.

It didn't help that the new moon was a few days away.

Reaching over and brushing your hand against his bicep, his body calmed, losing it's hostile form as he remembered where he was and who he was with. Ever since Ace's party, he had been more wary of your surroundings, even if the attack was a mistake.

Rising from bed, you barely managed to shuffle into your slippers before there was more harsh knocking on the door. You mumbled in annoyance to yourself, suddenly aware of your left arm being stretched behind you. Law's fingers were curled around yours as he followed you to the door, radiating heat.

You unlocked the door and whipped it open, watching a fist come for your face. It was quickly stopped by Law's hand, and that was when both Alpha's realized who it was and recoiled away in disgust.

"Marco? What are you doing here?" You murmured, rubbing your eye with your free hand. "It's like 3 in the morning."

"The Sheriff found a dead body." He explained briskly.

That caught your attention, but it still didn't concern you too much. You were safe anyways. Law would rather die than let any threatening figure inside the house. Marco was quick to notice your change in mood, then as it reverted to original.

"The body's on the border of your land, (Y/N)." The blond huffed.

You felt Law take a step closer to you, his chest brushing up against your back as you snapped into focus. "Wait. What?"

"It's on your property line." His eyes drifted up to Law and you noticed the flash of a scowl on his face.

"It was you, wasn't it?" He snapped, looking above you.

Law's eyes narrowed and his body tensed, grip on your hand tightening slightly, ready to spin you out of the way if Law lunged. He said nothing.

You were fully awake now. He was going to accuse your soulmate of such a thing? When you could barter that he had been with you for the past 72 hours, even. "Take a step back, bucko."

He was evasive to your words, and his mouth opened, and it didn't close this time. He was spewing words of 'why the hell are you still here? Aren't you going to run? You better stop using her as a shield or I'm going to rip your throat out you mutt.' It didn't end no matter how many times you attempted to cut him off.

Thankfully, Trafalgar was keeping his cool, lips sealed tightly together in order to restrain himself from fueling the fire.

"She's your next target, isn't she?" Marco spat, reaching out for you. You leaned away from his touch and Law took a step back, pulling you to his side and then behind him.

"Knock it off!" A familiar voice shouted. It was Kinsey, as she appeared from around the side of the house. She was quick to grab the blond by his bicep and yank him off of the side of the porch. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why accuse him when you _absolutely_ know it wasn't him?"

She cuffed him on the side of the head, blue and brown eye narrowed cautiously at him. "Quit throwing your tantrum and act like an adult!"

Returning to your original position, you veered out of the doorway to see Kinsey standing there, reprimanding him. She was wearing fleece plaid pants with her knee-high snow boots, a large winter jacket, black gloves, a red scarf, and a black winter cap. Her hair was French braided and hanging over her left shoulder, purses lips as she finally finished correcting Marco.

"Kinsey, are you Australian?" You inquired, furrowing your eyebrows. "You got an accent when you were yelling at him?"

The blue-haired girl looked over her boyfriend's shoulder to you. "Oh, yeah. I've been in America for a few years now, so it only comes out sometimes." She sheepishly smiled. "Anyways," she drawled. "He was serious about the dead body."

"Why me?"

"Because the body is on your property line, duh." Marco rolled his eyes, earning a pinch from Kinsey.

 

* * *

 

The body was on the far end of your property, bordering the no man's land, the unclaimed woods. It was eery, quiet, uncomfortable. Thankfully Law was there to help you feel safe, along with Marco and Kinsey leading the way. The boys didn't need flashlights, because of their nocturnal vision, but you and her were depending on the beaming light emitting from your phones.

It was like walking onto a horror movie stage set. The snow was tousled, splatters of blood reaching to your feet, five feet away from where the body was found. Bark had been savagely ripped off of the trees surrounding the crime scene, stained at least six or seven feet up the trunk. The blood was still fresh, dripping, yet freezing into small icicles with the temperature dropping.

"It's gone." Marco rumbled, standing over the indentation of where the body was. There was a stray shoe a few inches away from him, pieces of shredded clothing surrounding him with about a three foot radius. The stench of blood was still thick in the air, and you felt your stomach coil in disgust.

"Something has to have dragged it off." Kinsey  observed, walking next to Marco and crouching down. "There are paw prints here, and an obvious sign of the body being disturbed." She pointed out the unsteady path from the original spot, deeper into the unknown.

"We have to find it." Law stated.

"Yeah, we do." Marco sighed, running a hand through his blond hair before tucking it back in to the pocket of his tan winter coat, plunging his black boots into the snow as he followed the path, Kinsey close behind him.

You waddled after them trough the thick snow, Law hot on your heels as he observed your surroundings, waiting for a threat to appear or something to harm you show itself.

It was about a five-minute walk from the property line to the new location of the body.

"It was a Newblood." Marco said, standing above the remainder of the corpse. He covered it enough that the only thing you could see were some chewed-off fingers, which was still sickening to the stomach.

"Newblood?" Kinsey asked. How she was holding any food in her, you didn't know.

"Newbloods are the cursed lycans who have experienced their first shift." Law spoke up. "I'm not surprised it happened this early, as the Newblood's typically switch a week or so before the new moon."

"They are unaware of their actual status in the wild, so their body and mind reset as the top predator of the woods, hunting to survive, usually without mercy. There are some who come to sense within a few days, yet there are ones who need the trainings of a familiarized lycan to break into their normal, passive form. Sadly they all go through the blood lust during the first shift and kill just for the hell of it." Marco explained, crouching down.

"Ok, so, are they all Newbloods?" You inquired.

"No." Marco said bluntly.

"There are also Freshbloods." Law began. "Freshbloods are those who have the lycan gene within them, born into the family, not cursed, and they don't lose control like this. Freshbloods usually experience their first shift on a full moon, but instead of killing things, they search for others to help them adapt to this newfound way of living, and usually end up joining the pack."

"So, what happens to the Newbloods that aren't trained and don't join a pack?" Kinsey asked, taking the words right out of your mouth.

"They have to die." Law said.

"Very few know about our kind, but the ones that do, know of the Freshbloods and our passiveness, our duty to protect the mundane and act as a pack to keep things in order. The Newbloods are a disgusting factor to our image, and they don't care for the rules. They're the ones that will walk into town and kill all those who are sleeping."

"Ever heard the story of the coyote killed a baby, then mimicked a child's cry and then killed the mother?" Law asked, amber eyes looking over at you. A slight nod satisfied him. "The original story was of a Newblood, not a coyote. It was altered to scare children of going out at night, and of the coyotes. It's realistic, compared to us, who only exist in fantasy stories and the fairytales you were told as a child."

Marco sighed and stepped to the side, revealing the body.

As soon as you caught a single glimpse, your stomach churned. You turned around, looking at Law with puffed cheeks before bending down and grabbing two handfuls of snow and pressing them against your face.

The bitter cold calmed your stomach, and soon you let the remaining snow slip from your hands. You were not going to look at the body again.

The entire thing had been so mangled that there was no chance of being able to recognize the victim with physical assessment. DNA samples would need to be taken. If there were any left, of course.

The skull was shattered completely, a large crevasse where the person's face should be. It had been scraped clean, only a few chunks of brain and the cold interior of the skull remained. The throat was torn open, flesh filleted to the sides, ragged, revealing the neck vertebrae and what remained of the vocal chords.

The chest was in the same condition, but with the intestines scattered across the ground, some torn to shreds, some obviously having been ravaged by the Newblood. One leg was missing from the middle of the thigh and down. You didn't want to know where it went.

You heard a sigh from Marco as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

The familiar note of buttons on the dial echoed across the eery clearing.

_"Hello?"_

"Hi, this is Marco. I've found a dead body."

 


	13. The Hunt

The hollow outline of the moon illuminated the darkening sky as nightfall soon arrived. It was soon that the next plan was to be made, but as a group instead of just five people.

In the kitchen was a buffet of sorts, thanks to you with help from Sanji. There was warm chicken pot pie, pot roast, a vegetable tray, some steaming beans in a pot on the stove, beer, soda, and water on the kitchen table, and two large apple pies sitting patiently in the oven.

Your living room was full of life, all bustling around, some sitting on the floor and others sitting on their partners and some in a few camping chairs that you had brought from inside.

Everybody was here. Kid's Pack, Marco's Pack, Luffy's Pack, and finally Law's Pack. All had decided to meet at your house, since it was neutral ground, also because you decided it was a good idea.

It was the first Whitecap meeting of the new year, taking place on a new moon instead of a full moon. A traditional thing, so to speak. In the eyes of the lycans, a new moon was an opportunity to start fresh, make better decisions, and decide the new laws for that year. A full moon was the sign of completion, used to recollect the scenarios and decide how to improve them incase they arrived once again.

You were still a little unsure of why it was such a big deal, but nevertheless, you tried your best to understand and make even thought of all of their ways—even if it was the exact opposite of the previous eighteen years of your life.

As everybody had their full and gathered their apple pie, settling back down in the living room, it was time to discuss the new year, and the current problems at hand.

"Let's get started." Kid said, rubbing his hands together, hunched over in his chair. Gizmo sat behind him, her legs wrapped around his torso as she played with his hair.

"As you all know, two more dead bodies have been found on the border of (Y/N)'s land." Marco began. "They all seem to have been the victims of Newbloods. It's sad to say that the lost are Monet, Yorki, and Vigaro. None that have been affiliated with any of the packs, or know of us, but they were residents of Whitecap." He continued on. "One Newblood was found, and was offed by Killer and Bart. It had no sane mind left and that was the only option. There's obviously another, as the First was killed after the death of Yorki. The other Newblood has more experience with killing and does it in disturbing and complex ways, almost like they are marking their kill, and beginning to claim land. Nevertheless, it's a powerful threat, and will not stop until we do something about it. Too many lives have been lost already, and we do not need another casualty."

"Shanks is already look at us for answers." Luffy added. "We need to kill it. He knows bullets will do no good."

Shanks was the Sheriff of Whitecap, Mihawk his partner and the rest of his crew were the cops. They were aware of the lycans, having been cursed themselves. They have no affiliations or belong to a group, just call themselves neutrals and are known as 'The Duo' when it comes to technical terms with the lycans.

"Mihawk has come across what seems to be a shelter for the Newblood, and managed to destroy it, and leave his scent, but that didn't seem to scare it off." Kid added, leaning back slightly into Gizmo. "We're running low on options to get rid of it, and citizens have already been reporting signs of a wolf-like animal prowling through the hiking trails."

"What I suggest is a bait trap. Lure it out into the open, then have teams together to kill it." Law spoke up, his hands resting on your thighs, you sitting in his lap.

"It cant be one of us as bait, it won't approach our scent." Zoro observed.

"It'll have to be a human, then." Teagan said, her fingers intertwined with Ace's.

"You're not bait." Ace scolded, squeezing her hand.

"I'll do it." You spoke up.

In complete synchronization, every person in the room said no.

"You're too important to the packs to lose." Nami said.

"I'll do it." Gizmo chirped, her head resting on Kid's shoulder.

Again, a multitude of no's.

"You're two months pregnant. Abso-fucking-lutely not." Kid growled, clenching his teeth. She pouted, but didn't speak up again.

"What about me?" Kinsey suggested, leaning over the back of Marco's chair. "I'm not risking very much, here." She said. The room was silent, and it seemed Marco was already swallowing his words.

"It's been decided. Kinsey's the bait."

**I n t e r m i s s i o n**

Three days later, it was almost midnight. In the empty, unclaimed forest, sat Kinsey. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders as she circled through a small clearing, rubbing her mittens together and shivering softly against the cold snow that threatened to seep through her winter boots.

The plan was simple. Act lost in the woods, defenseless. The Newblood would catch scent of her about half a mile from the clearing she was in, upwind of where Marco and Kid's pack laid waiting, settled in the bushes for their ambush as soon as Kinsey was located. It would follow her scent, excited by the fear and the idea of a next meal. As it would enter the clearing and make it's move to lunge for her, the two packs would collide into the center, while Ace, Killer, Bart, and Thatch would then escort Kinsey back to your house and take place to guard the house with Law's group.

The rest of the uncursed were in your house, sitting out of the game, waiting for Kinsey to arrive.

Luffy's Pack was patrolling the city, making sure the citizens were safe and no harm would come to the townspeople during the excavation of the plan. Usopp would be sitting perched in a tree above the clearing, radioing in updates to the house and to Shanks and Mihawk who would be in the police station in the heart of Whitecap.

There was little chance for failure, thankfully.

_"No sign of the Newblood yet."_ Usopp's voice rang through the headset at a hushed whisper. _"It's been fifteen minutes since she entered the extraction point."_ Equipped with a heat tracer, Usopp was watching the entrance to the clearing, waiting for the heat signature of the Newblood.

He switched the camera slightly to see Kid's Pack on the left side of the clearing, hidden by shrubbery, while Marco's Pack was hidden on the right, some even hiding on the sturdy branches of the trees to deliver an airdrop ambush to the opponent.

_"Newblood is here. Large. I'm guessing 200 pounds max, six foot tall. Slightly smaller than Kid's lycan."_

Kinsey froze at the soft rustle of bushes, turning her head towards the opening of the clearing and swallowing hard. Though she knew she was protected and there was little to no chance of her being harmed, her heart still pounded in her chest.

Her brown and blue eye focused in on the large figure of a mottled grey wolf with searing amber eyes, pupils dilated into slits. It's mouth was stained with blood, and it reeked of death as it slowly prowled its way towards her. All the breath left her body when it stopped and straightened to it's full height.

It observed her carefully, a low growl emitting from the bottom of it's throat.

_"It's found her. It seems hesitant, like it's aware of the situation."_

She held back a terrified scream as she soon was introduced to the horrifying image of death itself.

_"Oh shit. We have a problem here."_

She backed away, whimpering as tears threatened to fall from her different colored eyes.

_"W-we need to get her out of there. N-now!"_

It was then that it lunged.

_"It's too fast! I-it's going to_ —!"

 


	14. The Worst Bait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven’t updated in quite a while. I got sucked into the chaos that is my life, while updating on Wattpad and Quotev. 
> 
> Honestly, sometimes I forget AOOO exists, and I regret it.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the spam. I’ll be adding this to a series called ‘Eyes of Law’, which will basically be this book, the sequel (not yet in work), and then perhaps a few one-shots/short-stories, and/or drabbles that revolve around this main plot idea.
> 
> BTW, if the coding comes out funky, it’s because I’m copying these chapters from Wattpad and posting them here on my iPhone, and the HTML coding is doing stuff I don’t recognize. I’ll fix it as soon as I have access to a computer.

Kinseystood in the woods, mismatched eyes scanning through the filtering snow, the eery shadows of the trees looming over her average height, causing chills to run down her spine, even through the thick winter jacket she wore as defense against the icy weather.

Her fingers were bitter with cold, pins and needles crawling from the tips all the way up to her elbows, a mix of anxiety latched in.

Her legs felt heavy like lead when she saw the blurred outline of something in her peripheral vision.

She knew it wasn't Marco, or any of her protectors flanking the anguished forage behind her. No, they had to be well hidden and downwind so the Newblood wouldn't discover their ambush.

Biting harshly on her bottom lip and tugging the dead skin off, she tasted the metallic sensation of blood on her tongue as it pooled with her own salivation at the bottom of her mouth.

The shadows crawled towards her, the Newblood hiding beneath the cover of darkness. It was soon to advance. Too quick for her to notice it when it lunged.

Too fast for any of the lycans that were supposed to cover her to react in time.

It's teeth sank into her thigh, shoving her down with its heavy front paws and pinning her into the snow. A strangled cry left her lips as she felt the canine pierce her flesh.

_____________________________________

"What happened?" Teagan exclaimed as Ace crashed through the back door, dragging Kinsey along with him.

"It got ahold of her. That damn Newblood was fast."

"Is she going to change?" You asked, pulling the pillows off the couch so she could lay down.

Nami came rushing in with a first aid kit, throwing it at Law who caught it with ease and settled down next to the couch, ripping it open and digging through the items stashed inside.

You didn't have one in your house until Law decided he was moving in—he brought the entire thing with him. Guess it was good that he had a knowledge of medicine.

"What if we drain it?" Teagan suggested.

"It isn't like a snake bite." Shachi piped in from behind Law who was helping him get supplies ready.

"So she's going to change." You sighed, rubbing your temples.

"Not today, but eventually. Maybe she might not change at all." Gizmo explained.

"What do you mean she might not change?" You asked.

"You got bit when you were a toddler, (Y/N), and you've never changed."

A deadly silence filtered through the room.

"Does that mean I'm immune?" Kinsey asked, surprisingly calm about the whole situation.

"No. The only reason why (Y/N) never changed is because she has the bloodlines of a seer." Ace added.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"(Y/N) has a rare blood type which has never been discovered before. What was it, C?"

"C is a blood type?"

"It's not known, but yes. It's only a blood type that has been handed down through generations. To have C, your parents have to be purebloods, born with the lycan gene. It usually only happens 2% of the time that purebloods give birth." Ace explained.

"So, you have to have a homozygous dominant gene to be a pureblood, right?" Teagan asked.

"Yeah."

"So what happens if I change? Will Marco lose his imprint?"

"No. We can imprint on other lycans, or humans. It won't change if a human becomes a lycan. Just means the bond will be stronger."

"What if I don't imprint on Marco?"

"It's highly impossible." Gizmo reassured her.

"So, where is Marco?" Kinsey asked.

"Oh, him and Kid went to go take down that Newblood. That thing won't be getting away from Marco anytime soon."

_____________________________________

Hours filtered past. Kinsey had fallen asleep, Gizmo and Teagan sleeping in the open chairs available.

Dawn was approaching as you, Ace, Law, and the rest of his pack drifted around the house, some taking guard outside. Bart, Killer, and Thatch would occasionally amble inside to make sure things were okay before bristling back out into the cold. They were a little irritated that you wouldn't let their other forms into the house, since shifting so often was exhausting for them, but you eventually gave in after Law's crew abruptly changed in the middle of your living room.

"I told you no wolves inside the house!" You whispered harshly, holding a wooden spoon in your hand to smack Shachi out of the house.

"If they change back and forth so much, commonly they are unable to control it for a few hours after their last shift." Penguin said as he removed the wooden spoon from your hand. "We're unable to control it."

The sun had finally drawn over the treetops when the other three packs returned. Luffy's were calmed by patrolling the city. Kid and Marco's group were absolutely exhausted to the core, and a lot of them came back with weeping wounds and limping.

"Are you okay?" Gizmo asked as Kid versed into his human form and stretched with a loud yawn.

"There was a pack of them." Marco mumbled bitterly, sluggishly walking inside.

"We took them out, though. Don't worry." Kid said, rubbing Gizmo's back.

"Then why are you all torn up?" Teagan asked as she looked over the pack members.

"It was mainly trying to get Marco back under control after what happened to Kinsey."

"I said I was sorry." The blond huffed. "Speaking of her, where is she?"

"I'm here, and I'm fine." Kinsey said, hopping out of your bedroom on one foot and leaping into her boyfriend's arms. "Are you okay though?"

"I'll just be sore for a little while." He smiled, happy to see that she was technically still able to move—even with one leg.

"Why is there fur everywhere?" Kid asked, looking around the house.

"Because I gave up on the 'no wolves in the house' rule after Shachi changed in the kitchen." You sighed, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Can we all crash here for awhile?" Luffy yawned loudly.

"Fine. Whatever. Just, if you shed, you have to clean it up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, obviously, C is not a blood type. But in this, it is, so deal with it.


	15. Snow and Ice

That satisfying sound of the snow crunching under your snow boots echoed off of the treetops. The forest was peaceful as clumps of snow fell off of the thick branches and caused drifts to appear in the tall underbrush hidden from man's eye. It had stopped snowing about an hour ago, though the dull grey clouds above you said they would cry more frozen tears soon.

A few weeks ago, you wouldn't have dared to leave your property without Law by your side to protect you from what was laying in wait to snatch you. You had decided you needed some time to yourself, venturing out on your own to get some peace and quiet from your house that had become lively within the previous days. Though Law's pack had their own area to meet and do their own things, they had all decided that your house was the safest place.

The fact that your house was on neutral ground gave them a sense of security stronger than they had on their own territory. There were still cold moments between the multitude of packs, especially paranoia when it came to territory being taken. Law had plans to discuss about your property being a new section of his territory, but you had quickly shot the idea down, as well as everybody else to his irritation.

The only other downfall of your territory, since it was unclaimed, gave whatever was out lurking through the shadows the opportunity to cross the lines. You hoped that all the mixed smells of the packs in Whitecap would prevent such things from occurring. One benefit and probably the most satisfying thing about your territory was the fact that Mihawk and Shanks themselves had come and claimed it. 

Their marks were much stronger and noticeable than the others, making a larger indent on the creatures that would avoid your property. 

After being surrounded by lycans for about a year, you were occasionally able to recognize the scents of particular people. For example, Law was the one you could recognize the most. He smelled of pine trees and eucalyptus mint. Ace had the smell of a campfire. Marco, burning wood and ashes. Kid—more disturbingly so—a metallic smell similar to blood, copper and a heavy musk that you just couldn't recognize. 

Most recently you had noticed a change in smell of Kinsey, and you assumed it was because she had been cursed. It was a comforting scent of candle wax and lavender. Gizmo, well, she just reeked of Kid, but in her own way with just a hint of cinnamon.

You briefly passed between two large, gnarled oak trees, naked without the coverage of leaves to protect their brittle branches from the cold. That was the marker of your territory, recognized by the mixed scents and the overwhelming odor of unconfirmed things laying in wait on the other side. 

Eyes scanning around you, briefly up if you heard the branches groan with a breeze, or the flutter of an owl's wings, you soon began to wonder how long you had been walking. You still knew where you were, well, you knew how to get home. 

Snow began to filter down from the clouds once again, and you sighed softly, stopping to turn around and head home. Your piece of quiet time had come to it's end.

In front of you sat a large, black wolf, a heavy indent in the snow as his body sunk further in. In his eyes you could see the golden shimmer, like confetti falling from a Mardi Gra party. 

"Oh, so you've been following me this entire time?"

He chuffed, his chest slowly rising and falling as he did so, as if he was agreeing with you.

"Okay, so does this mean I need to go home?"

He stood onto all four feet, towering over you with the rise of his shoulder at six feet. He turned his head to the left over his shoulder and motioned with his nose to go in the direction he wanted you to travel. Basically, he was telling you exactly what you asked him.

You shook your head. "Nah. I think I'm gonna keep walking." Pivoting around on your heel, you tramped forwards through the snow.

Hearing a heavy sigh from Law behind you, he was soon following, knowing he couldn't control you until you were satisfied with what you wanted. He quickly outpaced you, his limber form angling with yours as his shoulder nudged you gently. Reaching out with a gloved hand, you scratched at the charcoal fur as he slowly directed you around the woods. His heat radiated off like a furnace, and you didn't feel so cold anymore.

Soon your legs were getting tired from pushing through the thick powder, and you gripped a handful of his coat and tugged lightly. 

He stopped and angled his head to you, pupils dilating into large orbs as he reached forwards and sniffed your face, his way of asking you what was wrong.

"My legs hurt." You whined, tugging again.

His ears flicked and he rolled his golden irises before crouching slightly to let you on his back.

Smiling to yourself—he'd never let you do this before—you grabbed ahold of the scruff between his shoulders with your left hand and swung yourself up like you were vaulting over a fence. 

Teagan had shown you the way to get up on a horse bareback, which is exactly what you did. Except Law was much bigger than Opal, and not a horse. You managed to wriggle yourself up with a few minor difficulties, but he waited patiently, cautiously scanning the area as you got comfortable.

"Thanks, ya big dog." You cooed, wrapping your arms around his neck in a hug-like fashion as he rose back to his full height and scoffed at you for calling him a dog. 

The only satisfying thing about you being on him and not taking your precious time walking through the snow meant that he could run without leaving you behind.

You felt his muscles roll underneath you as he took off at a steady jog. He was going to run soon, and you knew it.

"Hey! Give me a warning next time?!" You huffed, scrambling for grip through his thick fur. "Okay. Go."

Once he felt you were secure enough, he pushed off his broad back legs and plowed through the snow, the trees whipping by you like blurred scenery on a freeway.

It felt like only a few minutes, perhaps five at the most when he slowed to an eventual stop. You had your face buried in his fur so the snow wouldn't attack you as he ran. As he stopped, he rolled his shoulders gently, ruffling the fur you were holding onto as a signal to get off. You slipped off of his back and landed with a softened thump in the snow, turning to look after him as he trotted off. 

More focused on chasing after him, your feet lost traction as soon as they scored the thick ice of the lake, sending you sliding on your ass a few meters ahead of him. He snorted in amusement, like he was laughing at you. 

He began pacing around, not slipping due to the grip his claws kept on the ice. Slowly standing back up to your feet and sliding across the frozen lake towards him, you took the chance that he wasn't paying attention to you to shove him with all your might.

It was like watching a baby horse stand up for the first time, the way his legs scrambled to get coverage of the ice. His large chest hit the ice as his legs finally gave out from underneath him. 

Legs splayed out, he glared at you out of the corner of his eye while you laughed.

"You look like a bear pelt that somebody has as a carpet with the head still attached."

While you were laughing at his collapse on the ice, he slowly rose back up to his paws and suddenly lunged for you. He batted at you with a burly paw, using the pads to push on your shoulder and make you fall over in the same fashion that he did. 

Except on two legs, and not four.

This went on for maybe thirty minutes to an hour or so, where you chased each other around on the ice and fell on the occasional push. 

He had finally fallen down once more (you had tasted ice more than he had because he was faster, obviously), and was attempting to get traction when you snuck up behind him and leapt onto his back with a pitiful attempt at a war cry.

Then suddenly the comforting black fur turned to a trench coat, arms, and tattoos. Hands on your hips and holding you down, Law managed to flip you over in a surprise attack.

He was laughing.

You had never heard him laugh before. It was a small chuckle on the occasion, maybe a scoff or a smirk, but he seemed. . .happy.

And that's how he felt.


	16. Touch of Intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you all have waited long enough for this, our first lemon.
> 
> Sorry if it’s shitty, I haven’t written one of these in quite a while.
> 
> Sex starts after the page break, in case any of you want to skip it.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me, (Y/N)?" Kinsey asked as she was burrowed in a blanket, scrolling through her phone next to the fireplace. 

"Your ears are pointy." You muttered almost incoherently, catching her attention. 

"My what?" She looked up, furrowing her perfect eyebrows and lifting her gaze to look at you. 

"Your. Ears." You repeated, sighing as you moved over towards her. "They're pointy." You moved a loose strand of hair behind her pierced ear, touching the top gently. 

"Why are you touching them?" She yelped in a panicked state, her face flushing. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, but now she was dropping it. 

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"N-no." She buried her face in the blanket, muttering a few more words.

"I can't understand you when you're talking into the blanket." You leaned back on your hands.

"I liked it."

"Ears are sensitive to lycans." Teagan said, sitting on the couch and flipping the pages through her book. "She's already showing other signs as well." She yawned loudly, bored out of her mind.

"Like?" Kinsey sat up straighter.

"Your pupils dilate when you're irritated." She thumbed another page to the side. "You've been craving more meat, and growl on the occasion."

"When have I growled?"

"Just now." 

You turned to look at the bluenette, noticing a small rumble that was almost unheard until Teagan pointed it out. 

"Oh." Kinsey swallowed, and the growl ceased.

"So you're showing signs of changing, but not changing yet?" You tilted your head. "How long has it been?"

"Almost a month." Kinsey sighed, clicking her phone locked and putting it down. "Wasn't I supposed to change sooner?" 

"Supposedly, but I don't know what's wrong with you." Teagan responded, closing her book once her phone vibrates against the coffee table. "Marco and Ace are here. Ready to go, Kinsey?"

She unburied herself from the blanket and handed it to you. "Yep, let's go." 

"You gonna be ok while we're gone?" She asked as she stood up and stretched.

"Yeah, Law should be home within a few hours. I'll be fine."

Speaking of your soulmate, he was off doing who knows what with his pack. All you knew is that he'd be back before midnight, which wasn't too far away. 

"Are you sure you don't want to come to dinner with us?" Teagan asked, gathering her stuff in her bag. 

"I'll be fine." You repeated, sinking into the couch.

"Alright. We'll see you later. Bye!" They jeered as they walked through the front door, making sure to lock the doorknob on their way out. It was a picky habit you had acquired from your grandmother once she had gotten old.

With a heavy sigh, deciding to burrow in the blanket that Kinsey had been in previously, you grabbed the remote and switched through the channels.

The rest of the night had gone by slower than you had expected it to. There was nothing on the television besides stupid infomercials and well. . .nature documentaries. Deciding to watch one of the documentaries, you snorted to yourself as it began speaking about wolves.

Like you didn't know enough about them already. Hell, you were dating one, if that didn't count. Finding yourself in the kitchen and finding a box of macaroni, you decided that would be a good enough dinner. Maybe I should save some for Law...? You thought to yourself as you watched the TV from the opening of the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil. You shrugged softly. He should be fine. Besides, if he's hungry, I'll make him something he wants. Lost in your own train of thought, you turned to tend to dinner as the documentary droned on about the habits of wolves. 

"Wolves tend to hunt in packs rather than alone. Their hunting grounds revolve around where the nearest herd of elk, deer, or moose migrate to during the winter time. Since they tend to stay in a significant area during the warmer weather, wolves have adapted to their surroundings in order to feed the pack." 

You poured the noodles in, stirring them gently for a moment, before moving to grab a strainer and other needed utensils. 

"When hunting, wolves focus on the elderly, the sick, or the calves in the herd, as they are an easier target than a bull or healthy elk. The springtime is a good feasting for these creatures, as the babies are born and the mothers weak from the birth. Almost 1/3rd of the calves and their mothers don't return to the herd after the birthing period, as wolves are keen and will track the mother until they drop. Depending on the group of wolves hunting, they may attack while the doe is birthing, or soon after."

It was done. Finally. Dinner was served. Returning to the couch with your bowl and nestling up into the blankets once more, the house remained quiet besides the crackling fire and television humming.

( Here comes the sex, y'all. )  
_______________________________

Finding yourself waking up to the back door opening was a little startling at first, remembering you were alone. But then you remembered that Law was due home, and you knew it was him just by the shuffle of his feet on the floor. 

Sitting up slightly, you turned to look over your shoulder—just to see him standing naked. 

"LAW!" You yelped, suddenly turning around and trying your hardest to focus on the TV.

"Why are you shouting?" He huffed, staring at the back of your head.

"Why are you naked?" 

"My clothes were wet." He responded bluntly.

"Well don't just leave them outside." 

"I didn't. They're in the laundry room." He pointed out, and you then recognized the familiar hum of the washing machine. "Anyways, I'm going to go take a shower, unless you want to."

"I'll take one in the morning." You murmured, settling down once again.

"Or," He was suddenly leaning over the back of the couch, broad abs illuminated by the television screen with a tint of red hinging off the black tattoos. You couldn't see anything below his hips, except that delicious looking v-line. Thank god for that, or else you would've met death. "We could save water."

"N-no." You hissed, face flushed with embarrassment. 

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." That damn smirk he was wearing made your stomach coil. Memories of how he stuffed you in the bathtub after you almost caught hypothermia came back, and you sighed. 

"Fine. I'll be with you in a minute." 

Satisfied with your answer, he ambled down the hallway, giving you a good look at his ass.

Fuck, he had a nice ass. 

Fumbling in a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and anxiety, you managed to switch off the television with shaking hands before standing. To procrastinate, you took your time folding the blanket as you tried to reestablish your senses, only to hear an impatient cough from the bathroom. 

"I said I was coming." You almost choked on the words.

"Not yet, you're not." Holy fuck, you could hear the sexual tone in his voice. 

Would this even lead to sex? Maybe, but maybe not. Honestly, you were leaning towards the first option. Not that you were really complaining. It had been almost a year since you first met him, and only some steamy make-out sessions and the occasional kiss was exchanged over the past twelve months. 

Recently he had gotten a little bolder by grabbing your ass, kneading your breasts with his calloused hands, slipping his hands up your shirt and rolling your nipples between his thumb and forefinger.

The thoughts caused a coil in your stomach. It was like an automatic response, your body finding it's way to the bathroom where he waited.

Steam filled your gaze as you peered inside, seeing the reflection of his back in the mirror, arms up and biceps rippling as he ran tattooed fingers through his charcoal black hair. You were entranced with just the image, but the quick flash of gold that caught your eye snapped you out of the daydream. 

He turned to face you, the glass door of the shower fogged in all the right places as you slowly stripped from your clothes, dropping them in a pile and shutting the door behind you. Your teeth gripped your bottom lip for purchase as your eyes focused on the drops of water rolling down his thick chest and shapely hips, leading to the place that could do wonders to your body.

Lithe fingers pushed the door open, the touch of steam sending shivers down your spine as you stepped in. You were hesitant to look down, see what was awaiting your touch. 

He could smell your anxiety, and his heart lurched slightly. He knew you weren't a virgin, you had told him so. It had just been so long, and it hadn't been anything that was so. . .meaningful. 

He wanted to prove to you that this wouldn't just be sex, that this was love, and if you weren't ready, he wouldn't push it. No matter how much his instincts drove him insane, he wouldn't let them win. He wanted to satiate your body on his own accord, with soft touches instead of his rough side.

Words seemed to be extinct, the water streaming down his back as he kneaded his fingers through your hair with the shampoo. Thumbs massaging into your shoulders as he let the peachy body wash foam under his touch.

He switched places with you, watching the droplets run over the rise of your breasts, then trail teasingly over your perked nipples, the coil churning in your stomach as you noticed his golden gaze seem to darken slightly. 

The next thing you knew, your shoulders were against the shockingly cold glass door, and his lips were upon yours. His kisses were heated, water slipping between your mouths as he began leaving a trail of love bites down your neck, rolling his tongue against your collar bone as he left a hickey, one hand gripping your thigh, the other rolling the sensitive buds on your chest between his thumb and forefinger. 

He let his canines scrape against a bruise developing on the right side of your rib cage when he felt your body shudder beneath his touch, and a breathy sigh escape your lips while your digits gripped his charcoal hair.

He straightened, mouth meeting yours once more as his hand moved your thigh over his shoulder, pushing you further against the glass door and leaving you on your toes.

Thickness slipping between your wet folds, you barely managed to let out a throaty gasp, drag your nails down his back, before he went to work.


	17. The Past Life of Miranda-Mackenzie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains graphic images that may disturb some readers. If you’re interested in skipping the gore, see the end notes for the TL;DR
> 
> There will be a warning before the gore scenes. Please read the beginning paragraphs, they are very important for this story line.

There was a smell in the room that only reminded you of sickness and death. 

The image was hard to take in, Kinsey lying almost motionless on the bed, skin pale with her chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. 

Marco looked like he hadn't slept in years, his usual blonde hair dull and greasy, hanging over his eyes in an attempt to hide the soul-sucking bags developing further under his cerulean irises. He held her hand in his, occasionally placing feather-like kisses across her knuckles, as if she would break under the slightest touch. For a few moments he lifted her hand to rest on his cheek, a slight warmth radiating from her palm, reminding him that she was still there, breathing, alive. 

All until her body began to convulse for what seemed to be the one hundredth time in the past 48 hours. 

For the past two weeks Kinsey's condition of health that deteriorated rapidly. She had fluctuating temperatures ranging from 101 to 108 degrees. She'd barely be able to stay awake for more than two minutes without experiencing another seizure. The group was at a loss. In this case, she would die within the next few days. 

"What do we do?" You fretted, fingers digging into Law's sleeve as he stood with his arms wrapped around your waist, head resting on your shoulder after Kinsey's spasms stopped.

"There's nothing we can do. All I can give her is pain killers. The medicine to prevent her seizures hasn't been working.   Her body is rejecting the change, and I'm not sure why." 

"That's because she's not human." 

There was an unfamiliar person leaning against the wall on the far side of the room. Nobody had sensed him until he spoke. He seemed to have appeared from thin air. "If you expect her to live, she needs to come with me." 

In pure instinct of protecting his downed imprintee, Marco had lunged from his chair, the wooden furniture rocking onto it's back legs before returning to it's original position. Kid, Ace, and Law quickly moved you, Teagan, and Gizmo behind them in order to be between the girls and this stranger who had made an unwelcome appearance. 

Before the Phoenix Alpha could get within five feet of this newcomer, he was frozen to the spot. 

"Inalgesco."

The man dropped his hood, revealing his blue hair, and the identical blue and green eye he shared with Kinsey. He spoke in a thick Australian accent, pursing his lips as a moment of realization came across the rest in the room. 

While everybody stayed in their positions—Marco forced to, as he couldn't shift his feet—the stranger moved to the bed. "I can't believe one of them imprinted on you. It's impossible." He huffed, mumbling soft incantations underneath his breath. 

"Who the hell are you?" Marco growled, grinding his teeth together.

"My name is Jaxon Farnsworth, older twin brother to Miranda, here." His heterochromatic eyes shifted to the irritated lycan frozen to his spot. "She never told you?"

"Told us what?"

"That she's a changeling, well, we are changelings. I suppose you've never heard of me, either. Typical Miranda."

"What the fuck is a changeling?" Ace inquired, obviously still unsettled by this stranger in the room.

"A changeling is a faerie child switched with a human child at birth. Well, in this case, two for two." 

"Why do faeries take babies?" You asked, peering around Law's figure.

"They need to eat, don't they?" Jaxon responds, flicking his wrist over Kinsey. A sudden purple mist began to evaporate into her pale skin, which was soon turning back into her natural tan.

"Changelings eat babies?!" Ace yelped. Teagan glowered her hazel eyes at her ridiculous boyfriend.

"Does he ever shut up?" Jaxon mumbled. "And no, you dimwit. We have the same diet as the rest of you humans, we just withhold faerie abilities." 

"Why didn't she ever tell us?" Teagan asks, slightly heartbroken that her friend didn't tell her such an important factor.

"Because the last time she told somebody she was a changeling, they did horrific experiments and tortured her. I barely managed to get her out of there before she died."

( Warning: Graphic content ahead. Reader's discretion is advised. )

__

The snow came falling gently from the gravel-colored clouds as the bright city lights illuminated the sky, the sun swallowed by the horizon. The night life of New Orleans was bustling in preparation of the new year approaching like a tidal wave. 2016 was crawling upon her faster than she had expected, and Miranda-Mackenzie had lots of work to be done. 

In just a few weeks it would be the year anniversary of her relationship with her beloved boyfriend, Oliver. Still unsure of what she would give him as an anniversary gift, she sat in their small, comfortable apartment, fingers extended towards the plastic Christmas tree and lights as she used her magic to put away the decorations. Soft orange lines that resembled a spider's web emitted from her fingertips as it pulled the fake branches off the base of the tree and piled it neatly into the thick box that would soon be returned to the attic. 

She hummed to herself blissfully, exchanging glances between her phone and her handiwork, choosing the next song to play from her earbuds as the front door of their shared apartment opened. 

Oliver had walked through the kitchen, his dark brown hair pulled back into the man bun that Kinsey had created that morning. He set the paper bags full of groceries down, announcing that he was home. Usually his girlfriend would come bounding around the corner and wrap her arms around his torso with a "Welcome home", yet he didn't receive his usual welcome.

Furrowing his eyebrows and moving towards the opening and into the living room, he was stunned to see things floating around the room, whizzing past him with orange tendrils attached, reaching as high as the ceiling as the ornaments were delicately placed in the cardboard boxes stuffed full of styrofoam.

Everything soon fell from the air to the carpet, a few ornaments shattering against the wooden floors. Kinsey's jaw was open as she ripped the headphones from her ears, trying to muster an explanation for what he just saw. 

"Ollie, I can explain."

His usual carefree demeanor turned to a dark aura, shoulders hunched as he clenched his fists as his side. "What are you?"

"Um. . . I'm-I'm a, a, uh, changeling." She stammered, slowly rising to her feet and approaching him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I didn't think it was important for you to know and that it would scare you off or-or something like that." 

There was a flash in his brown eyes, before he pulled Kinsey to the ground by her braided hair, a painful cry escaping her lips. There was a moment where she felt nothing but fear, until everything went black.

 

It had been six months since the torture began. She didn't know where she was, who all these people were. They wore large gas masks that covered a majority of their face, but she knew a majority of them were friends of Oliver. 

Her hair was mangled, knots flooding the usual soft locks with such a nasty look. Her eyes were glazed over with pain, heartbreak, and exhaustion. Multiple wounds littered her body, some cuts delving deep enough to expose the white bone underneath. 

What made everything worse was that she could feel the maggots crawling underneath her skin, chewing away at her muscular skeleton, munching through the blood clots and letting it weep from her open wounds. Her skin was practically rotting away due to the infection and inflammation caused by the maggots eating her alive.

She was on the brink of death until mutilated screams of muffled pain echoed around the building she was in. The floorboards above her head creaked under the heavy stomping of boots. She knew the sound of his steps anywhere. 

"Jaxon. . ."

On the second floor of the basement, Jaxon had a young man pinned against the wall, holding him up by the collar of his shirt with a hand wrapped around the fragile cartilage protecting the abuser's throat. "Where is she? Tell me!" 

He was trying his hardest to choke out his words while he clawed at Jaxon's appendages, begging for the release of the bluenette's death grip. 

"In. . .a cellar below us." He coughed out, wheezing as Jaxon let him fall to the floor. 

All Kinsey heard was a gunshot and the splatter of blood above her as Jaxon made his way down to her level. Before he was able to reach his sister, though, Oliver had grabbed her, a gun pressed to her temple as she weakly struggled to stand on her feet, tears streaming down her face. 

She had no energy to fight.

She knew she was going to die anyways.

"Stay back! Or I'll kill her!" Though he meant harm with his threat, it was obvious that her captor was scared, he was practically trembling underneath her brother's murderous wrath. 

"I'd like to see you try." Jaxon responded. 

Before Oliver could even process what the twin had said, a bullet was between his eyes and he fell to the ground, dead. 

 

It took Miranda-Mackenzie Farnsworth another eight months to heal from her deadly wounds. With plastic surgery hours underneath her, she had been restored and introduced back into the world. At first she was fearful, scared that her almost year and a half of torture would come back and she'd relive it all over again. 

She knew of Whitecap's reputation, the way the world worked over there in Minnesota. She had a distinct plan that if she could wiggle her way into one of the lycan packs by dating one of them, she'd be safe. She knew how their loyalty worked and that they'd rather die than give her up. 

She knew it would be difficult getting in, but she had already thought this far ahead and there was no backing out now. 

Not when she stepped into Whitecap High School and met her soulmate. 

She remembered the exact moment she bumped into him while exploring the hallways. He had been skipping his fourth hour while she had been excused from class to use the restroom.

For him, the world stopped, and it felt like the breath was drained from his lungs and given back to him, as if he had been drowning for years on end. The color seemed to erase from the hallways, and the only thing he saw was blue. It flooded in like a tsunami, a burst of color from her long blue hair, the purple flannel she was wearing that day, the black sweatpants, and white snow boots. The last, yet first thing he saw were her eyes. 

Oh god, those eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you’re uncomfortable reading disturbing scenes, (this one was much worse than the previous), here’s the TL;DR for you:
> 
> Long story short, Miranda-Mackenzie had been dating a guy named Oliver and was living with him before EOG took place. It was Christmas of 2015 when she was using her powers to decorate the house before Ollie came home. He walked in, saw her, then kidnapped her and tortured her for a certain amount of time. 
> 
> Her twin brother Jaxon rescued her, took her home, and she went under tons of plastic surgery to repair herself from the torture she had went through. She ran away to Whitecap, and met Marco, where he imprinted on her as soon as he saw her hererochromatic eyes.


	18. Misunderstandings

After Jaxon cleansed Kinsey of the damage the curse gave her, he explained that the ritual he used would kill the rest of us, after Ace asked about them being changed back to normal. Of course Ace would ask such a dumb question. 

"It'll take her two weeks to recover from this, but she'll be back to herself soon enough."

To say the least, the next two weeks were too quiet to be anywhere near comprehensible. Kinsey's presence was obviously missing, and nobody was in their right mind with her not being there. The group tried to go out for dinner a few days later. Nobody touched their food. 

In the end they all packed their meals in a 'to-go' box, and sped back to Marco's house where they ate normally while sitting in a giant circle on the floor of Kinsey's room. 

The weeks were slow, and Teagan had finally reached her point of dragging you along to the mall. Instead of helping you fight off the red-head, Law watched you get dragged out of the house with an amused look on his face.

"So how have things been going with Ace?" You asked, wandering around a clothing shop, only a dent in the small adventure you had been forced on.

"Oh, well, we're good. Y'know, everything's as usual. Ace is always hungry and is constantly going outside to force his affection on Shadow, who usually ends up just walking away from him."

"That doesn't surprise me." You clicked your tongue, pulling out a cute plaid button-down shirt and showing it to Teagan. "This is cute, you should get it."

"Why don't you buy it if you think it's cute?"

"I'd never wear it. Looks more your style, anyways." 

"You're right." She snatched it from your hands and put it into the small shopping cart she had snagged from the front of the shop. 

"Oh thank god I found you. I've been looking all over the place for you two." A familiar voice said.

"Oh, hey, Kinsey. Glad to see your finally up and moving again." You smiled, bringing her into a hug. 

"Can I hide with you guys for a bit?"

"What do you mean by hide?" Teagan asked, stuffing some jean shorts with a floral pattern into the cart—she had a strange obsession with floral anything. 

"Marco and I got in a fight and I don't want to talk to him right now."

"Whoa, you guys got into a fight? What happened?" You inquired, causing Teagan to stop short and face the two of you. 

"Well, when I woke up he was seriously mad. Mainly at the fact that I scared him so much, but he was pissed that I didn't tell him about what happened to me, y'know, the stuff."

"You don't need to talk about that with us, if it makes you uncomfortable." Teagan soothed her. 

"I tried to explain to him that I was scared about all of that happening again, but he didn't understand and just started yelling. So, I got the hell out of there."

"Sometimes his blonde shows more than Gizmo's." You sighed. 

"Anyways, why are you guys at the mall? I thought shopping wasn't your thing, (Y/N)." Kinsey asked, eager to change the subject.

"Well, I got dragged along." You gave a pointed look to Teagan, Kinsey following suit.

"Well, I needed to get out and do something besides work the horses." She mumbled something almost incoherent after, but both you and Kinsey caught it. "Well, horse."

"Horse? What happened?" You asked.

She swallowed hard and her lip quivered. "Opal and Rampage are missing."

"What? How?" Kinsey took a step closer.

"Well, last night after Ace went to go run the borders, I heard all this commotion outside. At first I thought it was just Opal squealing at the boys like normal, but it was different. I ran outside, almost forgetting my boots, and I found the fence was broken down. Shadow came running towards me with this terrified look in his eye. It was too dark to see anything, but he was shaking, and when I went to comfort him, I felt something wet on my hands. I used the phone on my flashlight and it was his blood."

Both you and Kinsey stood shocked, unsure of what to say. 

"He was hurt pretty badly. I thought that him and Rampage had gotten into a fight, but his wounds weren't caused by him. They were caused by some other animal, something with claws. He had this super big cut on his eye and his legs were torn up, like something had clawed at him to try and take him down. I immediately called the vet, and put him in the stalls after I tried my best to clean his injuries. When he finally calmed down I ran back outside to try and find Opal and Rampage, but they were nowhere to be seen. They weren't on the property, so I got on the ATV and went out to find them. Their tracks were easy to follow, but there were prints over theirs. I think something chased them. I got by the lake, and the tracks just stopped. There was nothing. All I found was a chunk of Opal's mane in the sticker bushes."

"Oh my god, Teagan." You whispered.

"What about Shadow? Is he okay?" 

"The vet showed up a little bit after that. She had to give him some sedatives to clean his legs up and stitch the gash on his eye closed, but he should be fine. He'll just need some time to heal." 

"I'm glad he's okay, but what about Opal and Rampage? What made them break the fence?"

"They wouldn't break the fence, there's hot wire on it. I think something startled them and whatever it was broke the fence itself. Ace says that the reason Shadow got hurt and didn't run after them is because he wasn't fast enough, and he's older. So whatever came through to them saw him as the easy target. He believes that Rampage chased whatever it was off of him, and then ran to distract it. I wouldn't be surprised, Ram is smart and would do something like that."

"How old are the horses?" You asked, unsure of their age.

"Well, Opal's the youngest, she's six, Rampage is thirteen, and Shadow just turned twenty." 

"That explains why they went after Shadow, then." Kinsey hummed. "Anyways, how long did the vet say it would take him to recover?"

"Dr. Zigfield said his legs should be healed in a few weeks, but it'll take his eye about two months. He's super headshy and won't let her touch it unless he's been sedated. He'll barely let me touch his nose unless I have a halter. She did some X-Rays on his right foreleg, and found out that he has arthritis and says that's why he limps when anybody over 125 pounds is riding him, so that was helpful." 

"What about that little girl that's supposed to be riding him since he can't handle Ace's weight anymore?" Kinsey asked.

"Rylee? Well, I told her mom that he got hurt and needed some time off from work. She's upset about it, and won't stop pestering her mom about how she wants to come and see him and help me take care of him, but she's patient and willing to learn more hands-on work instead of riding him." Teagan explained.

"I'm sure Opal and Rampage are okay, they're smart and will figure out their way home." The group turned around to see Ace.

He brushed by you as he made his way to Teagan, brushing the tears that were threatening to spill away with his thumb and kissing her forehead.

You had to admit, they were perfect for each other.

"Hey, where's Marco?" He inquired, turning to look at Kinsey. "I thought you two would be attached at the hip after you fully recovered."

Kinsey gave a brief explanation to why Marco wasn't with her, and Ace squeezed her shoulder gently. 

"Don't worry about it, I'll go knock some sense into him for you. He's pretty hardheaded and doesn't listen sometimes." 

"Tell me about it." She rolled her eyes and gave him a smile. "Thanks."

Safe to say, things went pretty well after that.

A week has gone by; Opal and Rampage still haven't been found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to show you what the horses look like, but I still haven’t figured out how to imbed pictures. Anyways, a small description would work.
> 
> Shadow: black horse, basically all you need to know lol
> 
> Rampage: a bright blonde horse with a cream-colored mane and tail. (Palomino)
> 
> Opal: a blue-roan mare. Imagine a black base coat with some silver and grey accents that resemble the color blue, along with white freckles that are considered ‘frosting’. 
> 
> If the descriptions for Rampage and Opal are confusing, go ahead and look them up on google or bing (:


	19. Newbloods & Kidnapped By Law?

Today just had to be the day that your lack of luck showed the most. 

The only benefit, is that the snow was gone. Thank Minnesota for it's summers, the highest temp in Whitecap would probably be 78 degrees.

Downfall, you were stuck walking home in the sweltering heat while carrying about six or seven bags of groceries on your arms. 

The drive to the grocery store had gone fine, coming back out was the opposite. Your Beetle wouldn't start, causing you to kick the tire and curse at it for a multitude of about five minutes, give or take.

Turning down the street that eventually lead to your house, two miles through the thick woods, you felt an eerie feeling caress your shoulders. Immediately becoming uncomfortable, you pulled your phone out of your back pocket and dialed Ace's number. 

'I'm sorry, the person you are trying to call is unavailable at this time.' 

That was weird. You tried Marco's number; the same tone came through the phone. Stopping for a short moment to look at your phone, you realized you had no service. 

"What? I always have service here." You muttered to yourself, looking up at the power lines that were semi-tangled with the trees. 

A sudden sharp sensation cut across your hand, causing you to yelp. Your phone had been snapped in half. There was a snarl to your left.

Across the street, within the trees was a humongous silver wolf, the same size Law's was, maybe bigger. It had this uncanny scent of death and decay about it, and the eyes were a dark maroon color.

Newblood. Was the only thought that ran through your head. You remembered Law telling you that Newbloods had maroon eyes and smelt of either sickness or death, they had a pungent smell that could radiate for miles.

Immediately dropping your groceries, your shattered phone clattered to the tarmac road as you sprinted to the woods closest to you. 

"Get to higher ground if you ever come across a Newblood." Law had told you. "They can't climb anything, they're unable to use their limbs for such an action. A tree is your best method of survival, climb up as high as you can."

Tumbling through the landscape, twigs snapped underneath your blue Converse as you searched for a tree easy enough to climb and sturdy higher up to hold your weight while you waited for your rescue team. You knew they'd be on their way shortly. The road split the territory of Luffy's pack and Law's, so either one of the groups would come for you. 

You looked up for a split second as you approached a gnarled oak tree that loomed over the others within the clutch of forest you were currently located. 

You had thought your path was clear, it was a common trail for border patrols on Luffy's territory. Yet you slammed into an evergreen tree, knocking your head against the bark.

You had been on this trail dozens of times, wandering around with Nami and Robin after a girls day out, that tree had never been there.

The world around you was blurred, your ears ringing as you tried to regain your breath. The impact had knocked the wind out of you, as if you had fallen off a playset as a child and landed on your back. 

You definitely had a concussion.

Hallucinations began to rise in your mind, Newbloods creeping in on you to tear you apart, much like the bodies that had been found on the edge of your property. 

You stumbled to your feet and reached out for the tree that you had body-slammed to support yourself from falling over, but it was gone and you ate dirt instead.

Rolling over onto your back and gasping for the air to return to your lungs, you could feel the blood rush through your veins, your heartbeat roaring in your ears as the ringing matched its harsh tone. Adrenaline prevented you from staying in that position for too long.

Moving to your knees, you crawled like a newborn child with their first realization that they could move. A stick cracked ahead of you. Looking up through the hair that fell over your eyes, you saw Law.

"L-Law, there's a-a. . ." 

You didn't have a chance to finish your sentence before darkness consumed you.

The last image that flashed through your confused mind was the man standing before you.

He didn't have the shimmering golden eyes, or the tattoos.

He wasn't Law.


	20. The Way The World Spins

Law shuffled through the back door, making sure he took off his boots to not track mud into your house, or he'd be kicked out for the night. You'd done it before, and he knew you'd do it again.

Eyes shifting through the darkness, he knew something was wrong. When he came home late, he always found you sleeping on the couch, the television on with one of those vacuum commercials or whatever it was. The kitchen light was usually on when he arrived, no matter how late. 

He couldn't locate you in the house by your scent, the entire place reeked of you, so there was no point in trying. 

He knew you weren't home.

Palming his phone out of his jacket, the first number he found was Teagan's. It rang and rang, then voicemail. 

Irritated that the redhead didn't pick up her phone—she always did—he made the decision to search the house in case he was overreacting and that maybe you had just fallen asleep somewhere. 

He looked everywhere. The office, the kitchen, the spare bedroom, your room, the bathroom, even the damn garage. He was beginning to feel unsettled, and stuffed his feet back into his boots. He almost trampled over his own feet trying to get outside to check the covered parking spot where your Beetle always sat. 

Nothing.

A flurry of panic washed over him and he fumbled for his phone again and dialed the next number on his list: Kinsey. No answer, again, just like Teagan. Ace didn't answer either. Same with Gizmo and Kid. Those were the few numbers he had in his phone besides his pack, and Luffy's, but he knew the Strawhat Alpha wasn't going to be with you.

The last number he had was Marco's. No matter how much the blond man annoyed him, he knew there was something wrong. 

"If you don't answer, I'm going to kill you myself." He hissed through clenched teeth, fingers uncoiling and creating a fist again. 

"Yo."

"Is (Y/N) with you?" 

"No, why?"

"She's missing."

I N T E R M I S S I O N 

Within the next half hour, the four packs that took residence in Whitecap was tearing the entire forest to shreds trying to find you. 

"Her car's in the parking lot of Holden's Market." Kid announced once the packs had met at the rendezvous point after scouring for hints on her location. 

"The engine's dead, it must not have started when she finished shopping." Gizmo chirped in.

"Hey, guys?" Teagan murmured, approaching the group later than the expected time, holding some grocery bags in her arms, Ace close behind her. "We found these on Mirage Road, and this." The redhead handed your shattered phone to Law.

"Alpha," a voice chimed in, slightly out of breath. "We've brought him." 

He turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Shachi, Penguin, and Jean standing around a large white wolf with long, fluffy fur, and shimmering blue eyes.

Pulling your favorite beanie out of the pocket of his jacket, he held it out towards the white wolf. "Do what you do best, Bepo."

As a juvenile, he had befriended Bepo, a lycan unable to change back into his human form due to some unknown cause. It was a high chance he was cursed for the sins of his ancestors, but not even he knew the answer to that question.

Bepo's eyes dilated from saucers to narrow slits, much that resembled a cat's eye. He burst through the packs with a determination that not even Law could comprehend. 

"Follow him." Law ordered, shifting his own body into his other form. The rest followed suit, being Kid, Killer, Bart, Marco, Ace, Thatch, and Shachi, Penguin, and Jean to cover the tail. The remaining of the packs lingered at the rendezvous point, protecting those who weren't lycan in case whatever took you care back.

On human foot it would've taken the entire group about two hours to reach the point of your missing self, but on paws it took them no longer than thirty minutes. 

Bepo reached a dead end, where you had disappeared without a trace, growling in frustration. The only thing that remained was your sunglasses. 

Law shifted back to his human self, crouching down to pick up the sunglasses. As he did so, he remembered something, something that he hadn't thought of over the past eight years. 

It was him. Law had originally thought it was just history, but the past always seemed to haunt him. 

"I know what you're thinking, Law. Don't act like we can't smell it, too." Kid said, riding to his original height after he transferred back. "We all have the same thought in our head, but we need to go back and discuss this with the others. Not to mention that we also need the Duo in with this plan if we want it to work."

"He could kill her!" Law snapped, his eyes leaving a glare of gold in the darkened night. 

"If he's doing what I think he's doing, he won't. He's using her as bait. He wants you to run straight in to get her, which is why you can't do that." Marco added on.

"Then you'd end up in the same position that she is." Ace said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"I promise, you'll get her back. All of us will." Kid finished.

Those weren't the words Law exactly wanted to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the last plot point, which will signify the end of EOG, and then we’ll move onto the sequel.


End file.
